Secrets Get You Killed
by GatorGirl99
Summary: Daryl/OC. Emory Phillips, single business woman, has been with the group since the beginning. Story starts by the side of the road looking for Sophia. Three months into the apocalypse and no one in the group is the same as they were at the beginning. Some have become stronger... others are realizing they need to let people in. Rated M for smut and language.
1. Chapter 1-Gimme My Damn Gun

**Hello All,**

**Well I've been away for a bit. I was frustrated with myself for never finishing a story I start. So I've been writing this one on my phone just to see if I would stick with it. Well, I've learned I will likely never finish a story, so I'm asking your forgiveness in advance. I do have 15 chapters of this one written so hopefully that will be good enough.**

**Anyway, this story jumps right into Season 2 (with references to some deleted scenes from the DVD), where our favorite merry band of travelers are stranded by the road looking for Sophia. My OC is Emory Phillips, a single, intelligent woman whose about 28 years old. The image in my head is Rachel Weisz from the character she played in the Bourne Legacy. Sort of sexy librarian.**

**If you've read anything else I've written, you already know I am partial to Daryl/OC in fanfiction though I love a good Caryl story also. **

**So, thanks in advance...and here we go.**

* * *

"Gimme back my damn gun, Dale! It was a gift from my father!" Andrea insisted, angry frustration literally radiating off of her as she glared back up at the older man.

Emory raised her head at Andrea's tone and looked around for her friend. As one of the only other single, professional women in the group they'd bonded early on. So she could tell something wasn't right. They were all preparing to head out to find Sophia, so why in God's name would Dale start messing with Andrea again.

"He has got to let this go," Emory muttered under her breath and shook her head, wiping some escaped strands off her shoulder. She abandoned the truck she'd been rummaging through and made her way closer to Andrea and Dale, leaning up against the hot metal of the RV to listen better in on their 'discussion'.

Emory didn't like to admit that she made a habit out of eavesdropping but in reality she'd essentially made a career out of it. Plus it wasn't like Andrea and Dale were even trying to be discrete.

Andrea was now hot and sweaty, and irritated as all hell. Dale was really starting to piss her off. But at least she no longer felt numb. But she was in no mood to be told by Dale, of all people, that she couldn't carry her own damn gun.

"Sorry, but only Rick, Daryl and I are carrying today. Can't have ya'll popping off rounds every time a tree rustles." Shane swaggered over and took over the discussion. His tone once again resumed his usual 'I'm the cop and you're not' mantra.

Shane's bullshit reasoning and self-assumed superiority only served to grate even more on Andrea's nerves ...Emory's too. Emory never felt terribly friendly towards Shane, and not even because of his relationship with Lori. It was mainly the way he just assumed the position of cop-in-charge. To be fair, she could have challenged him ...but at the time Emory didn't really saw much benefit...and a whole lotta downside.

And it wasn't because he was a small town sheriff. Emory always got along well with local law enforcement. She would always take the time to involve them and keep them in the loop...appreciating the valuable local insight they had that the FBI often didn't have. And if you treated them respectfully they usually returned the favor. She doubted Shane would have been any more agreeable pre-apocalypse than he was now.

'Christ almighty! We do not have time for this,' she muttered and stepped out from the side of the RV to make her presence known.

"Excuse me, Shane? I don't recall being consulted on this decision? And it is a group decision. It's been my experience since we made camp at the quarry, that everyone has handled their firearms with the impressive responsibility?" Emory's spine stiffened at the absurdity of this whole discussion.

"And Dale, taking Andrea's gun will not keep her from killing herself. If she doesn't want to live, all she has to do is get bitten." Emory looked the old man directly in his eyes. She recognized the desperation and worry in them but Andrea nodded her agreement, folding her arms at her chest.

"Its just not safe to have untrained folks carrying weapons with live rounds in camp," Shane did his best to sound thoughtful and reasonable, all the time empathetic to Dale's concern.

"So it just now became a problem? Not at the CDC? Not at the nursing home? But here? And who decides who is and isn't sufficiently trained? Let me take a wild guess. You!" Emory let her sarcasm drip from every syllable, letting Shane know exactly how little she thought of this decision. Damn she was so close to telling him that she was FBI and was here to take over, like she would have enjoyed doing six months ago.

"Your concerns are duly noted! Now just give us our guns so we can end this silliness and go find Sophia!" Emory crossed her arms across her chest along with Andrea, refusing to take no for an answer. When he didn't move, Emory escalated.

"If you don't Dale, then I'll have no choice but to be on my way ... with my guns and ammo too!" Emory's voice became eerily calm which was actually more fierce in its softness.

"Me too," Andrea sided with Emory.

"And me," Emory's neck nearly snapped in half when she saw it was Daryl speaking up.

She faintly heard Lori and the others gasp in shock...and disbelief.

"And me too," T-Dog stepped behind Emory, his arm crudely bandaged.

"This is not necessary Emory. Lets not do anything rash," Rick joined into de-escalate the situation.

"I agree with you Rick. This is completely unnecessary. We're wasting valuable time when we should be out looking for Sophia," Emory retorted. This time it was Carol who approached, also backing Emory.

Rick looked around and assessed he was scarily close to an insurrection or a mass exodus. Rick made his decision and then nodded to Dale to return the guns.

"You know that I'm not comfortable with this, Rick!" Dale reasserted his position, practically pouting.

"We have a lost little girl out there and we need to find her. How comfortable will you be if we're even just a few seconds too late?" Emory hated being mean, but Sophia's life was at sake.

After another minute of uncomfortable silence with everyone glaring, Rick ordered Dale. "Dale, give Andrea and Emory back their guns. Now!"

"Rick, please? This is a bad idea," Dale still protested. But after a thoughtful moment, he returned with the guns.

To everyone's surprise, after everyone had their firearms, Emory pulled Dale into a hug.

"I get it. I really do...but she's not yours to save," Emory planted a quick peck on his rough, bearded cheek. As she headed to grab her pack she walked over to Carol and wrapped her arms around the frantic woman.

"WE WILL FIND HER," Emory promised and prayed her confidence wasn't unfounded. Truth was, it became less and less likely that they would find Sophia alive with each passing hour.

"Thank you Emory," Carol wiped away her useless tears, far too wise not to know that Emory's words were useless platitudes...despite how truly heartfelt.

Emory had to run to catch up with Daryl. He'd left the drama the minute he saw Rick concede. Primarily because he was confused and perplexed by the sharp slice of pain he'd felt when he'd thought Emory might actually leave the group.

Daryl always moved fast and quiet through the woods and Emory was one of the few people in the group that could keep up with him...plus she didn't piss him off by clunking around and scaring off the game.

He'd even let her to go hunting with him a few times back at the quarry. She wasn't an experienced hunter but she was fast and picked things up quickly. He still remembered the night he overheard Shane warning Emory about "Those Dixon boys". Which was why he'd been surprised as hell when she was up the next morning, bright and early, waiting for him. And a cautious friendship had been born.

Daryl paused for a second and waited for Emory to catch up. He watched her run towards him and allowed himself a second to notice how pretty she was. He even noticed how he'd actually started looking forward to those moments, which were his and his alone.

He knew she'd been pissed at Dale, but now her face was smiling. She seemed to have already let go of any remnants of animosity. He'd never known anyone as forgiving and he was was worried it might end up getting her killed.

As she got closer he could see her skin already glowing with a thin sheen of sweat that somehow seemed to only enhance her beauty. She was tall, but not quite as tall as Lori. Still she was a half a foot shorter than him. In heels she'd be right about to...

What the fuck ya thinkin' 'bout her in heels? Ain't got no business thinkin' that shit. He mentally scolded himself.

He forced himself to remember that Emory wasn't even 'hot' ...at least not by 'Merle's' definition of 'hot'. Meaning she didn't have brassy blond highlights, a spray tan, or even big fake boobs. Daryl hadn't personally verified, but he was fairly certain that Emory's tits were real.

She kind of reminded him of this pretty school teacher that used to drop her piece of shit Chevy at the garage where he and Merle worked. Daryl at one time even fantasized about asking her out. But when Merle caught him looking at her, he gave Daryl so much shit that Daryl just gave up.

Emory's long dark, chestnut hair was once-again messily twisted into a knot, her usual hairdo these days. Her large silver eyes glowed with intelligence under thick sooty lashes.

"Would you have really left the group?" Daryl voice was so low, she barely heard him.

He cocked his head to the side as he looked back at her, doing his damnedest NOT to notice the rivulets of sweat slowly sliding down her neck.

The woman had balls that was for damn sure. Going up against Shane, Dale...and even Rick? But it was the realization that she might actually leave the group that hit him the hardest and he was utterly unprepared for how his gut had twisted into painful knots at the possibility. And why he'd backed her play. And it hadn't just been posturing either. He would have left with her. Hell, it'd likely be the smartest thing he'd done in months.

"Maybe, but not before we found Sophia. And Daryl?" She waited for him to turn and look back at her.

"Thanks for having my back just then... and for before!" She didn't specify what for exactly but she knew he knew.

"If ya ever do thinka leavin' ...," Daryl struggled to finish, feeling awkward at even hinting that she might matter to him. Or that she might have a little bit to do with why he was still here. That, plus he had nowhere else to go.

"Of course. Same goes?" Emory asked and Daryl nodded. She didn't need him to finish...and she also knew how hard it had been for him to reveal as much as he had. She couldn't help but smile at his back as they headed into the woods.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Emory stayed close behind Daryl as he expertly navigated the dense forest. Rick and the others, minus Dale and T-Dog, followed behind. Emory tried to scan the thick foliage for any sign of Sophia, but occasionally she caught herself staring at Daryl's finely sculpted biceps...and his ass. And then she yelled at herself, biting her lip as punishment.

Emory had to stifle a gasp when Daryl suddenly stiffened and spun in place to grab her shoulders. He effectively stilled Emory, then signaled to the others to silently hurry up. Emory looked over Daryl's shoulder and saw why he stopped. It was a lone tent in the middle of the woods. A perfect place for Sophia to hide.

"Carol, call to her. If she's in there it will help to hear your voice," Rick explained.

"Sophia? Sophia honey, its Mommy. I'm right here baby. You can come out," Carol's voice wavered with tears. When there was no answer Daryl disappeared into the tent for a minute while Emory consoled Carol.

"What'sin there?" Rick asked.

"Just some guy. Did what Jenner said. Opted out," Daryl explained very matter-of-factly but Emory sensed something was off. But before she could figure it out, the forest reverberated with the loud clanging of bells.

"Maybe its Sophia?" Carol hoped aloud, and they all began running towards the source.

Daryl easily ran ahead with Emory racing to keep pace ... soon they reached a small clearing with an equally small Baptist church...and and equally small cemetery off to the side.

"Rick. This cain't be it. There's no steeple. " Shane focused on the lack of steeple, but they all ran towards the church anyway. Rick, Daryl and Shane quickly eliminated three walkers inside.

Emory couldn't help but notice the irony of the walkers just sitting there in the pews...as if they too were praying. Likely had been at one time.

"JC? Ya takin' requests?" Daryl asked snidely before marching angrily back down the aisle, frustrated they hadn't found Sophia here.

"Rick? I'm telling ya. This cain't be the church. There's no damn steeple," Shane insisted, sincerely afraid that Sophia might be at a different church. Then those same bells clanged again, far more loudly.

Daryl was the first to race outside and find the outdoor speakers. Daryl just kicked the church in anger and frustration but Glenn opened up the weather-proof panel and switched the bells off.

"A timer! Its on a damn timer," Daryl sighed with exhaustion before storming away to clear his head.

"I think I'm gonna go back in for a minute," Carol's eyes watered with tears of disappointment.

Emory wasn't religious ...never had been...but given all that Carol was going through, she couldn't blame the woman for clinging to anything that might comfort her.

Emory decided to wander over to the cemetery. For some reason she'd always found comfort in cemeteries. She took her time and strolled among the headstones, fascinated by all she could glean. For example, there had obviously been a very influential Greene family in the area at one time. The Greenes had the largest and fanciest headstones. She hopped up onto the next great head stone and took a moment to simply relax and try and breathe. She figured the long deceased Hester Greene would forgive her.

She arched her back to stretch out her spine, then stretched her obliques side to side. She couldn't help but think about Sophia and prayed the little girl was ok. She was so damn young...and so little...and ... Hell, that little girl never has been alone.

Stop it, she scolded herself. You're just making yourself crazy.

Her gaze instinctively sought out Daryl and she watched him meander around the overgrown church grounds, but after a while he eventually wandered over to stand beside Emory. Emory acknowledged that she had been thinking about Daryl a lot lately. And not in a, 'did he catch enough food for us today' sort of way.

"Daryl? Is your behind feeling ok?" Emory smirked when he snapped his head around to stare at her, obviously unnerved by her question.

"The hell ya talkin' 'bout?" Daryl's head snapped to look at her.

"Either you've developed a nasty, fast-growing tumor on your ass or you took something from that tent," Emory commented.

"Ya been starin' at my ass?" Daryl accused yet clearly impressed that she'd been observant enough to pick up on it.

"I HAVE been walking behind you all day," Her silver eyes twinkled and she refused to back down. "And since I've become somewhat of an expert on your ass today, I can detect when something is askew."

"Shut up," he blushed, unused to being teased. Or flirted with. "My ass ain't ...askew!"

Emory on the other hand was quite used to working with men...all kinds of men. From corporate executives, to FBI careers, to drill rig operators.

Emory earned her phD from MIT in petroleum engineering ... fat lot of good that did her anymore. Instead of accepting that high paying job BP offered her, the FBI came calling and recruited her...convinced her what a noble calling it was.

After FBI training she'd been assigned to work undercover in Texas ad then the 'man-camps' of Wyoming to infiltrate to try and infiltrate a large scale drug running operation. She'd had no choice but to toughen up and develop a thick skin as she quickly learned the FBI was far more misogynistic than any Wyoming 'man camp'. She quickly learned to give as good as she got.

She'd still yet to tell anyone in the group that she was FBI, instead electing to keep to her cover story...oil company exec in Atlanta to finalize some contracts. And then shit happened and somehow the right opportunity to tell anyone the truth never seemed to present itself. And as time went by it just mattered less and less what anyone did pre-Wildfire (the CDC's term for this zombie apocalypse).

"I'm sorry Daryl, I didn't mean to embarrass you" Emory was sincere in her apology and that seemed soften the tight lines around Daryl's eyes. "Its a bad habit that I need to break."

"But you do have a rather peculiar bulge on your left butt cheek. Can I assume you found the gun tent-guy 'opted out' with?" Emory offered her hypothesis, her ankles hooking together and swinging over Hester's long dead body.

"Yea, I s'ppose ya prob'ly can," he glanced around to make sure it was still just the two of them. She always liked it when he did that. It made her feel special for some reason.

"Cool," she smiled her megawatt smile at him. Daryl tried futilely to ignore the electric warmth that zinged through him.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

"So they're whidling us down into smaller and smaller groups," Daryl groused as he lead what was left of the remaining group which was now only Emory, Lori, Carol, Glenn and Andrea.

Daryl couldn't stop himself from frequently glancing backwards to spot check Emory. He'd become accustomed to having her right on his heels so when she held back to walk with Carol it made him uneasy. And he hated that she could make him feel so fricken' uneasy simply by the lack of her nearness.

But the single gunshot that had reverberated through the forest a half hour ago was gnawing a hole in his gut...and everyone else's. Something was fuckin' wrong. And Rick, Shane and Carl were still out there on their own.

"Come on, lets just keep looking for Sophia...and get everyone safely back to the highway," Emory calmly spoke and pulled Daryl's hand. It unnerved her when Daryl got grim, mostly because his instincts were nearly always accurate.

But Daryl's attention was elsewhere and he jerked his arm out of her hand. He'd caught the last half of Andrea and Carol's conversation and it was still burning his ass. He ignored Emory's protest and turned and marched backwards to stare Carol straight in the face.

"All this hoping and praying ain't worth a damn thing. Cuz we're gonna find that little girl. And she's gunna be jus' fine. Hell! Am I the only one zen around here?" Daryl spun on his heel and stormed back off to lead then onward.

Emory couldn't help but grin at Daryl's back, mouthing 'zen'?. So they continued slogging through the woods, staying close to the creek and calling Sophia's name.

Even since she'd teased him earlier today about his ass, now she couldn't seem to manage to NOT stare at his ass. And a mighty fine ass it was. But it was his arms she enjoyed watching the most.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" She berated herself. I have got to stop looking at that poor man like he's dessert or a piece of meat.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

They hurried to make their way back to the highway, particularly since Daryl was getting more and more anxious about losing the daylight. He did not want to get stuck out here in the dark with a bunch of rubes.

"How much further?" Andrea complained, clearly exhausted. She was convinced they'd been walking in circles...each tree looking much like the last.

"About a mile...as the crow flies," Daryl looked around to get his bearings.

"Too bad we aren't crows," Andrea huffed and puffed then marched away in the direction Daryl pointed. But barely a minute later, Andrea's terrified screams broke the silence.

"Andrea!" Emory screamed back as she immediately raced through the forest towards her friend's desperate cries. She couldn't find Andrea at first but finally she saw why. Andrea had fallen to the ground and the gun, the one she'd fought so hard to get from Dale, was thrown more than 10 feet away. And the walker was bearing down on Andrea.

Emory had her Sig aimed, but before she could squeeze the trigger a large chestnut quarterhorse came barreling out through the forest, a young female rider swinging a baseball bat knocked the walker some ten feet away clear of Andrea.

"Lori Grimes?" The pretty rider yelled/asked at Andrea, obviously having no idea who Lori was.

"I'm Lori Grimes," Emory watched Lori's fairer than fair skin blanche even paler. And Daryl stiffened at the imminent probability of losing another member of the group.

"You gotta come with me NOW. There's been an accident and Carl's been shot! Rick needs you!" The horse-woman shouted in short, clipped phrases. Lori instantly dropped her backpack, climbed up on the back of the horse and went galloping off ... Daryl protesting the entire time.

"I'm starting to feel like I might be in that movie 'And Then There Were None'." Emory joined in with Daryl's grousing.

"Whatever. Lets just get the rest of us the fuck back." Daryl sighed, shaking his head.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

"Where are the others?" Dale started snapping and demanding answers the instant Glenn climbed up over the railing. Dale heard the single shot a long time ago...and assumed the worse. Which explained why his shoulders relaxed the instant Andrea came marching up behind Glenn.

"Rick, Shane and Carl stayed back to search. Then suddenly some lady on a horse came riding in on a horse like Zorro. Said Carl'd been shot so Lori went with her," Glenn tried to quickly pexplain, helping the scared yet still pissed off Andrea up over the guard rail.

"And YOU let her?" Dale just instantly accused Daryl.

"Climb outta my ass old man. Rick sent her. She knew Carl and Rick's name," Daryl had had enough of all these dumbasses for one day.

But then, Daryl halted and turned back around to offer Emory a hand, his strong shoulders literally yanking her all the way up the highway embankment.

He yanked her up with such force, she had to throw her hands up to his chest to brace herself from the momentum. And in that split second her silver eyes captured his cobalt blue ones. Her throat instantly became dry as a desert and she had to actually remember to breathe.

"Thanks," Emory finally managed to swallow, then after another breath she turned and left to catch up with, a still distraught, Andrea.

Daryl too had finally managed to swallow with great difficulty. He'd been thinking about Emory ever since her comment about watching his ass all day. Since then he'd been watching her ass...or admitting to himself how much time he'd already spent admiring her ass. Tight and firm under those denim jeans. Her hands, long and slim. Her tits...shit, shit, shit. Stop it ... Stop it... ya idiot. She's a fancy educated woman. Way outta yer league. She was just teasing yer pathetic ass anyway.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Tensions were still strained, to say the least, after Dale's outburst. But when they all learned just how ill T-Dog was, they instantly simmered down to focus on the important things. Family!

Daryl stomped off and returned with Merle's stash secured in a ratty remnant of a large ziplock bag (freezer strength). He tossed Glenn a bottle of heavy duty antibiotics and painkillers, tossing the Ectasy and the Meth back into the ziplock bag. Merle would beat his ass if he threw away his stash.

Emory couldn't help but hone in on the crystal blue meth in the baggie. It took all she had not to break down in hysterical laughter at the irony...practically thrown in her face. For a very short time, she'd been convinced she was making a difference in getting meth off the streets, particularly the extremely pure "blue". She told herself she'd been saving lives. But she'd learned years ago that Drugs won the 'War on Drugs' a long time ago.

But they simply couldn't compete with all the power, influence, and the guns. And most important of all ... an insatiable demand for the product. Emory knew she'd become cynical, a large factor in why she'd requested the transfer to white collar a year ago.

"We need to get to this place," Dale had the RV up and running...he'd actually had it running for some time.

"I'm not leaving. What if Sophia comes back and I'm not here," Carol had to bite down on her hand to keep from breaking down. But her tears streamed uncontrollably.

"I'm staying. Tomorrow's soon enough to pull up stakes. It'll give us time to make a sign...leave her some supplies." Daryl succinctly and humbly voiced his plan.

"I'm staying too," Emory promised and pretty soon everyone was in on the plan.

"Not you Glenn. If there's a chance they have a doctor then we've got to get T-Dog there," Dale insisted, clearly concerned about T-Dog.

Under heavy protest, Glenn finally agreed and took Carol's jeep and drove T-Dog to this farm.

Carol however was beyond grateful that the others had insisted on staying behind to keep looking for her daughter.

"Hey Carol. You know we won't stop until Sophia is found," Emory came over to hug the petite woman. Emory held her at arms length then gently wiped her tears away.

"Carol, we WILL find her. I mean, do you really think that Daryl won't find her? That man could find a golden rabbit turd in those woods. Sophia will be a piece of cake. The fact that we didn't find her today is probably a good sign. It likely means she's already found shelter elsewhere or with someone like that family that's helping Carl." Emory gave Carol her best pep talk.

"Yeah. That does make sense." Carol nodded and forced a smile on her face.

"I'ma find her Carol " Daryl promised out loud. The thought of that little girl alone out there was killing him.

Thank you Daryl," Carol did her best to believe. With sunken shoulders Carol made her way to the RV.

-/-/-

Carol was in no condition to cook and Andrea sucked at it even worse than Emory, so Emory had to step up. She heated up some scavenged cans of soup, beans and mixed fruit, jazzing it up with Dale's remaining spices.

"Hey Emory," Dale called down to her from his spot up on the RV. Emory climbed up to bring him a warm bowl.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about today... about the guns! You were right," Dale hated to admit it, but he was old enough and mature enough to do so.

"I know! And I also know that when we're hurting, we often aren't thinking clearly. We've already all lost so many. And I know how afraid you are about losing Andrea too. I know how much you love her. " Emory wasn't one to hold a grudge...not anymore. What was the point?

"Whatcha got there?" Emory eyed the guitar Dale had set beside him.

"The guitar? I found it while looking for meds for T-Dog. I thought maybe Glenn played. But he doesn't." Dale chuckled.

"May I?" She reached for it, immediately soothed by the smooth, polished wood. She took a while, twisting the knobs and plucking strings since it was badly out of tune and a little warped, but she soon had it sounding decent. Then she began strumming an old favorite.

"I didn't know you played?" Dale encouraged, sensing the calming change in Emory. She hesitated at first, but then began to slowly strum:

"If I Die Young

Bury Me In Satin

Lay Me Down on a Bed of Roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

Lord make me a rainbow, I'll shine down on my mother  
She'll know I'm safe with you when she stands under my colors  
Oh, and life ain't always what you think it ought to be, no  
Ain't even gray, but she buries her baby"

Emory stopped, suddenly feeling embarrassed at how she'd let the song take her away to a better time.

"Don't stop! That was lovely," Dale was more than surprised that she was so good.

"It was kind of a grim song choice ... all things considered," Emory smiled, but then with an impish grin she changed up the tempo.

"All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,  
You better run, better run, outrun my gun.  
All the other kids with the pumped up kicks,  
You better run, better run, faster than my bullet."

"Cute!" Dale chuckled. "But I think I liked the other one better."

"I haven't played in ages. Not since ...well in a very long while," Emory almost slipped and revealed too much. That was what she hated most about being undercover. The constant lying. Not because she was bad at it. But rather, how good she was at it."

"Well, I think this guitar has found its owner," Dale nodded, grateful to have cleared the air between them.

"What is this? Like the 'wand chooses the wizard'?" Emory joked, hoping Dale was a Harry Potter fan.

"Something like that. Just don't start calling me Olivander," Dale teased back.

"You do kind of look like him," Emory teased. Taking the guitar with her, Emory climbed down from atop the RV and went inside to get some much needed rest.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Emory was beyond exhausted when she entered Dale's RV. Carol was lying on the bed in the back sniffling, her sobbing actually shaking the RV.

Daryl had already made himself a pallet in the aisle. Andrea immediately pulled the curtains between the driver's seats and and the rest of the RV to make her own bed. But instead of sleeping she just sat there assembling and reassembling her weapon the way Shane taught her.

Emory had no option but to crawl over Daryl to set the dinette down into a bed. After figuring out the contraption, she took a moment to undo her hair knot, massaging her scalp while her dark hair curled and cascaded around her shoulders. Daryl couldn't help but watch and wonder if her hair could possibly feel as soft as it looked.

"Damn Daryl! Is there anywhere you can't sleep?" Emory finally folded her bed down and leaned up on her elbow to look down upon on him.

Daryl opened one eye to look back up at her and wondered if that's how she looked in the morning after a wild night. All smiling and mussed...her voice husky and warm like whiskey. You'll never know so stop wasting time thinking on it, he yelled at himself.

"Yeah...in here." Daryl groaned then pulled himself into a crunch. His eyes looked back at the distraught Carol then he scrambled to get up. Once he slipped his vest on, he asked Andrea for his clip.

Emory hurried to catch up with him once she realized he was going back out. She slid her tall leather boots and jacket back on, grabbing her clip from her own stash (she didn't really trust Dale yet with her ammo). She looked out into the dark to spot him, then ran to catch up with him.

"Emory, its not safe!" Dale called out from his perch on the RV.

"I'll be fine Dale. Daryl just wants to shine a light in case Sophia can see it," Emory knew this was more about Daryl feeling helpless than the fact they might actually find Sophia tonight. In fact, she prayed Sophia was holed up somewhere and not wandering around at night.

Dale seemed to finally 'get it' and he returned to his perch.

"Hey, wait up," Emory whisper-yelled at Daryl's back.

"Whatcha doin' out here? Don't need ya," Daryl turned to snap, his voice venomous.

"That's just super! So is it that you don't need me...or that you don't need anyone?" She punched him. He figured she'd hit like a girl so was unprepared for the sharp pain in his shoulder.

"Don't need you...or them!" Daryl snapped, his eyes rimmed red from fatigue.

"We both know that's not true. We all need somebody. Even you," She wanted to comfort him. But the way he was now, it would be akin to hugging a pissed off porcupine.

"You know we need to stick together," Emory finished.

"That's real rich when ya was the one threatenin' leavin' today," Daryl turned to face her.

"I thought you agreed with me. I can't stay if they won't let me protect myself and the group!" Emory grabbed his shirtsleeve, her blood pressure elevating.

Daryl stared at her face, luminous now in the silvery-blue moonlight and knew he would have a hard time denying her anything.

"Come on...lets walk," Daryl pulled her along until she kept pace. Soon they'd entered the woods but Emory still felt safe. Like she always did with Daryl.

"Can we find her?" Emory hated to voice her fear, and Daryl was the only person she felt free enough with to do so.

"Christ woman! It ain't the mountains of Tibet! It's Georgia!" Daryl huffed at even the possibility of not finding her.

"Yeah, you're right," Emory laughed then took a chance and hip checked him.

"Hey!" He protested, then checked her back.

"You ever been to Tibet?" Emory asked.

"Yeah. Right" Daryl snorted in derision.

"Hey? How am I supposed to know? You never tell me anything about your past. You could have been in the service. Maybe you were a famous mountain climber?" Emory teased him. She figured this was not the best time to mention the six months she'd spent in Nepal.

"I worked as a car mechanic ... did some handyman work when I could. Barely got outta high school," Daryl admitted despite his feeling ashamed. But he trusted her, even though he couldn't figure out exactly why.

"Daryl, do you think I don't know how smart you are, or how 'observant' you are," she grinned, reminding him of that little lesson he'd given Andrea back at the destroyed Vato's nursing home.

"And the others do too. I have a phD and Dale has a Master's degree in history but if any one of this group had to choose who to go it alone with, I guarantee you, each and everyone of them would choose you." Emory's eyes told him she was dead serious.

Daryl stared back at her, his eyes glinting as he squinted them. He wanted to believe her but in the back of his mind he just couldn't. But maybe he was just good for survival...but then what? Throw him over for the next best thing?

"Stop yer lollygagging! I was nine when I got lost in the woods for way more'n a week. No harm done," Daryl pulled her along. She reached for his hand initially just to hold him back but then decided she'd hold on for a while longer.

Daryl flinched at first and then stopped for a second, but still Emory held her grip and smiled up at him. Then she threaded her fingers. He stiffened reflexively, so Emory let go. She was grateful for the darkness so he couldn't see her blush...but nor did she see the reddish flush form on Daryl's cheeks.


	2. Chapter 2-Are You Looking At My Ass

**Thank you all so much for supporting my story, and forgiving the lack of finishing. You all are awesome.**

* * *

"So you were a child and left in the woods for over a week? Why didn't Child Protective Services get called in?" Emory was appalled at this glimpse into Daryl's childhood.

"Shit! That's even worse than being in the woods," Daryl snorted.

"Are you kidding me?" Emory shook her head.

"If ya ain't lived it, you cain't understand. The point is that I found my way back, with just an itchy ass. Made myself a sandwich and went to bed," Daryl finished.

"That story sucks. I would abandon any dreams of writing children's  
Books...unless maybe The Brother's Grimm market?" Emory still couldn't believe he'd grown up like that. Emory knew she'd had a privileged upbringing but she'd never truly understood just how lucky she'd been.

"Why ya keep doing that? Acting like I'd ever write a book. I barely read," Daryl turned to stare at her.

"Why do you keep putting youself down? Are you some kind of compliment whore? Needing me to keep telling you how great you are?" Emory stomped her foot and trying to act annoyed.

"Stop it. I know yer just tryin' ta piss me off!" Daryl turned around to face her.

"Well all this bullshit about how inferior you are is starting to piss me off," Emory refused to back down.

Daryl wanted to yell at her...scream that she had no idea about anything. Instead he backed down.

"Come on... I saw something up ahead," Daryl walked away.

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"Well that was pleasant," Emory snapped sarcastically as they both walked away from the 'human pinata'.

"I didn't think you'd be such a baby," Daryl taunted her.

"Yeah, well a person can only see so much before it gets to them," Emory tried to moisten her mouth with her saliva.

"I told ya summa my shit. Ya gonna tell me yours?" Daryl suddenly turned to ask.

"What?" Emory could hardly breathe.

"Like how it is ya can shoot better'n Shane? How ya recognized Merle's 'blue'?" Daryl asked and Emory gasped. Damn, he was observant.

"If I tell you, do I have your word?" Emory swallowed. Daryl simply nodded.

"After I got my degree, the FBI came to me. Convinced me I could make a difference," Emory laughed wryly at the memory...at her naiveté.

"I'd been working on a meth smuggling operation which is why I recognized the "blue". That lead us to an even higher nik of money laundering. Its why I was in Atlanta." It felt good to finally be able to talk to someone.

"Why didn't ya ever tell Rick?" Daryl wondered, figuring she'd be given a degree of respect that the two cops tended to hold for just themselves.

"Everything was happening so fast and crazy at first...and then it just never seemed the right time. I mean, does it even matter anymore?" Emory sighed.

Daryl pulled her back up the embankment and again she was pulled chest to chest. Emory sighed into Daryl's mouth. And it hit her like a ton of bricks.

I want him!

"Uhhmm, I'm tired," she finally managed to croak out, hating how breathless he made her.

"Try to get some sleep," she pulled him along with her, unable to stop her fingers from twining with his again, almost instinctively as if her fingers had a will of their own.

Daryl let himself be pulled along by Emory, giving himself a moment to be pulled anywhere by a gorgeous woman. While nobody could see and give him shit.

Emory settled back on the folded down dinette then looked down at Daryl lying on his pallet on the floor.

"Get your stubborn behind up here! I know you're exhausted," Emory reached her hand to pull him.

For an instant she thought he'd argue. But after a moment, he huffed then he lifted himself up and lay beside her on the dinette cushions.

"Night," Emory reached her hand to touch his shoulder.

"Night," Daryl answered. And he closed his eyes and slept. Better than he had in ages.

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Emory woke up the instant the morning light began to shine on her face. She looked around to get her bearings and noticed Daryl was already gone. Still, she remembered how his warmth radiated against her all night. How safe she felt.

She took a few minutes to tidy up and fold the dinette back then left the RV to go find Daryl who was already awake and patrolling the length of highway.

"Any sign of Sophia yet?" Emory asked Daryl. Daryl didn't acknowledge her at first. But eventually he just shook his head 'No', unable to hide his disappointment. But then his protective shield reappeared.

"Maybe those folks that have Carl also have Sophia? Makes sense?" Emory couldn't understand it, but she hated seeing this tear Daryl up. Becoming his burden to bear.

"Yeah, s'pose yer right. 'Sides we cain't leave our asses hangin' out on this highway any longer." Daryl accepted the reality ... with typical Dixon reluctance.

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Emory drove T-Dog's truck (they'd abandoned her BMW rental long ago) and followed behind Daryl's bike and Dale's RV. She looked around at the unspoiled beauty... the farm's green pastures which seemed nearly surreal after the all horror they'd seen.

Daryl locked not one, but two gates behind them. As she looked out over the lush green land, she could almost believe this part of Earth had somehow been left miraculously unscathed.

The farmhouse was larger than it first appeared from the long driveway. it had large airy porches all around and multiple fireplaces. She pinched herself just in case she was dreaming ...or already dead.

As soon as she pulled to a stop, she raced out to greet Rick and Lori who descended the front steps of the three-story farmhouse to greet everyone. Hugs were given and welcomed, while everyone waited anxiously for news of Carl.

"Carl's gonna live. Thanks to Hershel and his people," Lori hugged Emory last and Emory could feel her thin frame still trembling.

"And Shane. Carl's alive thanks to Shane," Rick added rather awkwardly. Emory glanced over at Shane who seemed a completely different man. His head was shaved and he was wearing faded denim overalls seventeen sizes too large. And Shane was unable to look her in the eye.

"Hershel said we can set up over by those trees," Rick explained once the greetings and explanations were done.

"Why not by the barn? Or even in the barn?" Emory asked, thinking it was obviously the safest place and could even offer them added protection.

"Hershel thinks we're safer closer to the house. His land! His call!" Rick insisted, already more beholden to the Greenes than he could ever repay.

"Fine, whatever," Emory shrugged and moved to go get her tent but Rick stopped them all.

"They lost a man. Otis! He went with Shane to go get the surgical supplies except he didn't make it back. We're having a service shortly," Rick explained solemnly, expecting everyone to show their respects and be there.

Emory just frowned as she absorbed the news. Instead of pondering the strange feeling in her gut that something was awry with that story, she just swallowed it. With a shrug she grabbed her gear and began setting up her tent.

She was nearly halfway done when she felt his presence. She looked over and Daryl was kneeling opposite her, nailing in her tent stakes.

"Hurry up," he growled but his tone was softer than usual. "Sounds like we got us another funeral."

Daryl wasn't sure why he needed to help her, to talk to her...hell, just be around her. But he did.

"Hey Daryl! Wait up!" Emory hurried to catch up with him.

"Whatcha want?" Daryl shrugged to face her.

"First of all, thanks for helping me with my tent. Second, I just was wondering if you feel it too? Something's off...I don't know...hinky?" Emory had learned a long time ago to trust her instincts. And she also trusted Daryl's.

Daryl scowled and stared back at her, absorbing her words. His blue eyes appeared cautious, but she could see his agile brain spinning.

"Hinky...Yeah, that sounds 'bout right," was all Daryl said. Then together they joined the others under the tree to mourn Otis.

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"Carol? Have you seen Daryl?" Emory stepped into up the RV. The Greene's had been kind enough to let them use their showers as they still had hot water so most of the others were waiting in line for a turn.

Still, it was getting close to dark and she hadn't seen Daryl yet (who could stand to get first in that shower line). Then it hit her that she was worried ...about Daryl Dixon.

"Yes. He left just a little bit ago. He was out looking for Sophia all day and came upon a house with a cupboard where a small child had been sleeping recently. He brought me that flower," Carol's voice hitched and then she started crying again.

"Oh! That was incredibly thoughtful," Emory soothed as she scooted to sit by Carol and hug her. Truth was, with each passing day hope diminished.

"Emory. He's a good man," Carol stopped her tears and her voice became firm.

"Of course he is," Emory agreed automatically, unsure of where this was going.

"Em, he's had a bad start to life but there's more to him. He has a tender heart," Carol pointed out. "Be gentle with it!"

"Carol, he brought YOU flowers," Emory reminded the woman.

"We both know it wasn't a romantic gesture," Carol's eyes clouded.

"You don't know that!" Emory protested.

"Yea, I do. But I think he might have some romantic feelings for you," Carol nudged. Emory now knew where Carol was going with this.

"Are you trying to play matchmaker?" Emory tried to make fun of Carol's astute observations.

"Cause if you are, you suck at it. Daryl has made it rather apparent that he has no romantic interest in me," Emory countered, trying to lighten things up.

"Em. You're so good for him. And he's really good for you," Carol dried her eyes as she spoke.

"Maybe we should just see how things go," Was all Emory could say and Carol didn't object. Emory left Carol alone with her Cherokee Rose.

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Emory needed to walk. To take a break from all the drama. Carol. Lori and Shane and Rick. Sophia. Carl. It was exhausting and heartbreaking and more than she could take.

She didn't want to feel all this...raw pent-up emotion. So much pain and hurt. If she could, she would just turn it all off. Care for nobody! Just survive no matter what.

She'd been able to do it back when she was working. But then, she'd had a handler and a support team to tell her what was what. Things were black and white.

She walked the perimeter, eventually venturing off into the forest...intrigued by the faint trickling sound of water. As if on autopilot she followed it, finding a serene little spring-fed pond with a waterfall streaming down into it. In all this horror, there was still this little slice of heaven.

She sat down behind a rock and before she knew it, just began sobbing. For all of it. The losses. Her fears just from day to day living. Sophia. Amy. The heartbreak and hopelessness. The neverending sadness.

After Emory finally cried herself out, the idea of rinsing off a days worth of grime in that beautiful water was too much to resist. It wasn't as nice as a hot shower...or maybe it was better she figured as she embraced the privacy of her solitude. She looked around for walkers then shimmied out of her pants and threw her t-shirt onto the pile. Then she dove into the cool water in nothing but her white lace panties and bra.

Daryl sucked in a shocked breath. He'd seen her crumple and cry and he decided he'd watch over her while she lost it...feeling too awkward to go over and attempt to comfort her. But he'd never expected her to slip off her damn clothes.

He'd tried to look away...he really had, but he'd been wondering what she looked like under those clothes for a long time. Her skin was taut and golden brown with long lean legs and shapely hips. She'd developed a tan where her tank top hit making her arms slightly darker than the rest of her.

He refused to believe he was some pervert but still he felt guilty. He watched over her as she undid her hair, letting her dark hair, which now glinted with golden highlights in the late afternoon sun, flow around her in the water. He watched her swim to the small waterfall then stand beneath it and let the water wash over her and scrub her clean. And then her eyes opened, immediately spotting him.

"Daryl Dixon! That's so unfair," she jumped back into the water so only her head was visible.

"Hurry the fuck up and get out. S'dangerous," Daryl yelled.

"What's dangerous is you going one more minute without washing!" She swam over to the edge, as far as she could without letting him see her body.

"Think I'd just as soon take a hot shower back at the Greene's," Daryl blushed at the thought of joining her under the waterfall. Fuck Lord, he wanted to. But that could only ever happen in his fantasies at night after his subconscious took over.

"Fine...Wimp," Emory sighed and swam closer. "You probably already saw me half naked, but would you mind turning around?" Emory asked him to at least give her some dignity.

Daryl didn't protest, he just did as she asked, still remembering the sight of her nearly naked under that waterfall...committing it to his memory.

Emory scampered for her clothes and quickly put them back on, doing her damnedest to not be embarrassed that he'd seen her. Or was she more embarrassed that he saw her and still refused to join her?

"Come on. Lets just get back," Daryl lead the way, only barely waiting up for her.

"Hey Daryl? What you did for Carol today! That was ...a real fine thing!" And before he could flinch away, she leaned up to press a soft kiss on his cheek. Then she rushed up ahead to lead the way, her bra and panties dampening her shirt and jeans.

"Are you looking at my ass?" Emory turned and paused. She stared at him after a few dozen steps.

"Already seen it," Daryl snapped back, pretending to be unaffected. Truth was, he enjoyed her ass the whole way back. As well as the memory of Emory nearly naked under that waterfall..

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The next day Emory joined Carol and Lori to wash clothes. Andrea however decided she was done washing clothes and was more accustomed to sitting on the RV with a gun. Emory and Carol were fine with it but it clearly irked Lori.

"Daryl went out again to find Sophia," Carol said, her face glowing with pride.

"He'll find her" Emory wasn't sure how she said it with a straight face, but she did. Carol nodded but it was getting harder for them both to pretend.

"Yeah, he will," Carol smiled an almost drugged smile. "He's just working so hard. He's already done more for her than Ed ever did in her whole life."

But while Carol seemed nearly serene, Emory was a bundle of nerves with each passing hour that Daryl didn't come back. She carried her basket of damp clothes to the clothesline and started hanging clothes in the afternoon sun.

"Walker!" Emory heard Andrea scream, watching the immediate flurry of activity, particularly amongst Shane, Rick, Glenn and T-Dog who were now racing across the field.

"What's going on?" Carol asked as she and Lori came running to her.

"Andrea saw a walker," Emory shrugged and raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

"Hershel's supposed to handle walkers," Lori insisted. Just then a gunshot crackled through the air.

"Andrea!" Emory screamed. This could get them kicked off Hershel's farm. Damn her! She ran towards the RV just as Hershel and Maggie came running out of the house screaming.

Emory saw Rick gesticulating and jumping wildly, screaming No. Then Andrea jumped off the RV and ran across the field.

"Shit. What did she do?" She raced Andrea across the field.

Then she saw what all the commotion was about. Andrea shot Daryl and it was just Rick and Shane holding him up.

"Is he ok?" Andrea screamed as she ran.

"Unconscious. Just grazed him," Rick explained, snatching the ear necklace from Daryl's neck and shoving it in his shirt before Hershel could see.

"You shot him?" Emory felt her blood boil. "You fucking shot him?" Emory ran full blast into Andrea, knocking her to the ground then punched her and would have kept punching, if T-Dog hadn't pulled her off and tossed her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Everything after that just became a blur. 


	3. Chapter 3-You're My Problem

**Just a little short one**

"He's going to be just fine Emory. I saw him earlier and he's back to his normal contrary self. Why don't you take this to him," Carol passed the tray of food to Emory.

Emory had been sullen and withdrawn the rest of the day, barely speaking to anyone as they all worked to prepare the grand dinner Carol was so intent on serving.

Emory didn't bother to respond to Carol, instead she just snatched up the tray and carried it down the hall to the last room on the left. Holding the tray in one hand and kicking the door open with her foot, she saw Daryl lying in bed.

She instantly gasped for breath but managed to swallow in. He looked so ... Weak. He glanced up and when he saw it was Emory he immediately yanked the sheets up tighter, nearly to his neck.

"What the hell d'ya want?" He turned further to his so as not to look at her.

"Just bringing you dinner. Eat it or don't. Whatever! Tray's there," she slammed the tray on the side table. The tray clanged with a bit more gusto than she had intended.

"What the fuck is yer problem?" Daryl turned over, struggling to sit up.

"Me? My problem?" Emory couldn't stop herself from kneeling on the bed to help him sit up even while she yelled.

"I'm the one lyin' here and yer yellin' at me ... Like a bitch!" Daryl let the sheet drop as he yelled the name. He knew it wasn't right but he couldn't stop himself.

"My problem? You want to know what my problem is? YOU! You're my problem. Because you're an idiot! You almost got yourself killed today! If Andrea wasn't such a shitty shot...!" Emory was doing her best to stay angry but the fear and hurt she'd been trying to suppress made her voice crack.

"I didn't shoot myself," Daryl pouted then glared back up at her, reminding her of a naughty little boy that's been sent to bed without supper.

"What about that hole in your side? Those cuts and bruises? You're concussion?" Emory felt herself soften, her fingers reaching out to trace the worst cut just over his eyebrow, wishing she could take the injury away.

"You didn't have to go out there by yourself," now Emory was the one that sounded like a pouty child. Daryl couldn't figure out why his gut was on 'high alert' but it was.

"S'that ham?" Daryl glanced over at the tray, unable to deal with the concern on Emory's face.

"And real mashed potatoes and green beans." Emory didn't wait for him to ask, she just brought the tray over and rested it on his lap.

"That looks like peach cobbler," Daryl immediately went to dive into dessert first.

"Nah Uh, not until you finish dinner," Emory smirked and nodded to his plate.

Daryl's first instinct was to protest and just eat whatever the hell he wanted. But the fact that she was making him feel like she cared...it made him feel good. Or maybe it was those pain pills Hershel gave him? Regardless, he felt warm and happy. And he wanted her stay with him.

He ate silently with Emory looking on. There was a satisfied look on her face when he finished and she slid the bowl of cobbler to him.

"You're looking full ... and sleepy," Emory smiled as she brushed a stray lock of hair to the side.

Daryl instinctively flinched under her touch.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think," Emory jerked her hand away. "It must be painful."

"S'gettin' better," Daryl grumbled then looked back down at his tray. Having her think he flinched from the pain was far better than the truth.

"Here, let me take that. You need to get some sleep," Emory reached for the wooden tray and stood up.

"Get better ok," Emory paused then,at the last second, leaned over and slowly kissed his lips, giving him time to turn away if he chose. She smiled when he didn't. She pulled away just as quickly, leaving Daryl with a stunned look on his face.

Daryl watched Emory close the door and he slid back down under the covers. He closed his eyes and recalled her smell, the feel of her lips, the tickle on his neck when her hair fell down. He'd meant to yell at himself for his nonsensical thoughts but decided to give himself a pass tonight, chalking it up to the drugs.


	4. Chapter 4-What Do You Want From Me

Emory slept for shit and her body felt like it had been hit with a 2x4. She tossed and turned all night, despite the fact that she'd reassured herself that Daryl was ok. She jerked awake every hour, dripping in sweat and terrified he'd been killed...that Andrea shot a walker ... Daryl.

She still felt bad about Andrea as well ...and about how bitchy she'd been to Daryl. Crying then snapping at him, then kissing him?

Emory had always been the type of person that needed to address things head on rather than let them stew and fester. Which was why she was so miserable having this hanging over her head. She couldn't even appreciate this gorgeous sunny morning or the green, walker-free pastures.

It really had been just an accident. And Daryl had obviously already forgiven Andrea judging by the way she was smiling and buoyant after leaving his tent.

'I hate this,' Emory admonished herself as she unclipped the clean clothes off the clothes line and quickly folded them into neat piles. 'I don't attack people like that...certainly not people I call my friend. I've been trained to control my emotions, for chrissakes.'

"Shit, just get it over with," Emory mumbled. With grim determination she picked up the stacks of freshly folded clothes and headed over to the RV where Andrea was sipping coffee and chatting with Glenn who was working on the RV engine.

"Andrea? Can I talk to you a sec?" Emory approached tentatively. She held out the clean clothes, handing Andrea hers before speaking. This served two purposes. It was a peace offering but it also kept Andrea's hands occupied just in case she decided to punch Emory back.

"I'm really sorry... About yesterday. For attacking you like that. I just sorta lost it," Emory took another breath before continuing. "Its no excuse, but I am truly sorry. Are you ok?" Emory reached out to gingerly trace the swollen area around Andrea's eye.

"Yeah I'm fine. My first shiner actually. I think it makes me look kinda badass don't ya think?" Andrea teased knowing Emory was already beating herself up far worse than she ever could. Andrea figured it was only right for her to be as magnanimous as Daryl. Magnanimous Daryl? Who would have thought?

"We both screwed up. And I'm not hurt," Andrea smiled and reached out for a hug.

"Thank you." Emory held her tight. "I guess I've got one more stop on 'Emory's Apology Tour'," Emory sighed as she mentally prepared herself to head over to Daryl's tent.

"Huh? Who else did you hit? T-Dog" Andrea wondered aloud.

"No, you're the only one I hit. But I was kinda bitchy to Daryl. Called him an idiot. I don't even know why exactly," Emory admitted. Seeing Daryl bloody, beaten and unconscious had terrified her and forced her to realize just how much she'd come to need him around. Not for food, or even protection. She just felt better whenever he was near. And she felt 'off" when he wasn't.

"You'll be fine. At least YOU didn't shoot him," Andrea smirked, then gave Emory a friendly shove in the direction of Daryl's tent.

She could see Daryl watching her approach through the tent screen. She could also tell cabin fever was already setting in judging by the way he kept fiddling with his arrows.

"Knock Knock," she forced a cheery smile on her face before stepping into his tent. "Clean clothes." She held out the stack of his folded laundry.

"Thanks," he looked up at her and made the effort to sit up, reaching for the stack. She was wearing a dress again today, this time without any sleeves he noticed. In fact, he'd started noticing lots of things about her. Like the small mole on her neck just below her left ear or the way her lips curled up at the corners making it look like she was always just about to smile.

"No, don't try and sit up. Just tell me where you want them," Emory insisted, setting them down where he pointed.

"Ya gave Andrea a helluva shiner there," Daryl teased, still shocked and a little flattered that she had gotten into a fist fight because of him.

"Yeah, not my proudest moment," Emory grimaced with humiliation as she massaged her red knuckles.

"You must have a mean right hook," Daryl complimented as he grabbed her hand to inspect the damage.

"I do. So don't piss me off again like you did yesterday," Emory smiled and sat down on the edge of his cot. She took a measured breath as she prepared her apology.

"Hey Daryl, I just wanted to tell you ... Well I'm sorry that I was ... like you said, 'bitchy' to you last night. I do that sometimes when I get scared. I guess its just one more of my bad habits I need to break," Emory got it all out before taking a breath.

"S'nuthin'." Was all Daryl managed to say. She was sittin' here beside him looking so pretty and she smells so good. And she was tellin' him how he'd scared her by gettin' hurt and nearly dyin'. Was it because she was afraid without him there to protect the group...to feed the group? But weren't they were doing decent here at the Greene's?

"That's very gracious of you," Emory conceded. "But could you maybe promise not to scare the crap outta me like that again?"

"Prob'ly not. But I'll lie to ya if ya want me to," Daryl realized he was actually laughing a bit.

"No, I don't want you to ever lie to me," Emory's eyes darkened to the color of pewter. The air instantly became pregnant with uncomfortable silence and Emory regretted getting so serious.

"Unless I'm asking you if my jeans make my butt look big...then you always lie," Emory grinned, relieved when Daryl actually chuckled.

"Ya know there ain't nuthin' wrong with yer ass," Daryl accused her.

"See! You're already getting the hang of it!" Emory reluctantly stood up to let him have his valued privacy.

"Is there anything else you need?" Emory switched easily back into caretaker mode.

"I'm good. I just need ta get the hell back out on that trail," Daryl grumbled and threw the paperback across the tent, already bored as hell and it was barely mid-morning

"Don't you even consider it. I'll shoot you myself if you even think of moving from that cot today," Emory snapped, eyes fiercely boring into his.

"I cain't just lay here all day. Its boring as hell!" Daryl once again looked like a small boy pouting.

"Are you kidding me? That's exactly what you do. And if you're good I'll come back in a bit with a deck of cards. Maybe teach you how to play Texas Hold Em," she smirked as she started to stand.

"Y'ain't gotta teach ME how ta play poker!" Daryl snorted indignantly.

"Did you just snort at me?" she playfully shoved his leg. He was so adorable, Emory couldn't help herself. She reached over to gently smooth the stray hairs hanging nearly into his eye, careful to avoid his stitches.

But Daryl's instincts and reflexes were much faster. She never even saw it coming. His hand snapped her arm in a steel vice grip she knew would badly bruise, if not possibly break her wrist. It was as if he'd been afraid she was going to hurt him.

"Owwhhh," Emory frowned as she gasped, eyes widening with shock and pain. He had inadvertently pulled her halfway on top of him, eyes not two inches apart.

"Daryl," she pleaded, eyes beginning to water from the pain. He seemed trapped in some sort a fog. She called out his name and finally she broke through. He instantly released her. But his eyes were now filled with shame and fear.

"Go on! Get out! Take yer shit and just leave me be!" Daryl yelled at her, is voicing overcome with emotion.

"Stop Daryl. Its ok. I'm ok. It was my fault. I shouldn't have startled you," Emory apologized first to take the blame away from him which she could already starting to eat away at him.

"Let me see yer arm," he sat up, ignoring the stab of pain as he did so, yanking her closer so he could see the damage.

"Its fine," Emory pulled her wrist away before he could look at it. He pulled for her arm again, but Emory just snatched it back farther so it was out of his reach.

"I told you its fine!" Emory insisted. Then, without warning, she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips before he had the chance to stop her. She'd intended it to be fast and impulsive. A distraction. She hadn't planned on allowing her lips to linger and slide back and forth, which was exactly what she did.

"I'll come back and check on you later," Emory pulled away and then scampered out of his tent before he could say or do anything.

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Christ. What the hell did ya do to her, ya dumb hick? What the hell do ya think ya did? Yer a Dixon. Dixons hurt women.

It serves ya right fer even thinking for half a minute that there was a chance for ya and someone like her. It was there in her eyes. She was afraid of ya. And so on and so on went his internal dialog with himself... with a little Merle thrown in.

Daryl had never harmed a woman in his life. Ever! He had little to take pride in, so that was the one thing he had. Beatin' on women had been his worthless Daddy's thing.

He and Merle had seen their Ma with broken bones and a bruised face more often then not. And even with all the bad shit Merle did, he'd never known Merle to hurt a woman. Least not that Daryl knew of.

Sure, Merle slept with any and every skank he could, and he treated them shitty, but he'd never seen Merle raise a hand to a woman. Daryl's answer had been to just avoid women altogether, spending most of his days hunting or reading up in the bluff.

Fuck! He'd damn near broke her wrist just for trying to soothe him...smooth his stupid hair down! She would probably never look at him like that again...the way her eyes had beamed with smiles. She likely now would always have that cautious fear in her eyes. Hell, he'd be lucky if she even spoke to him again. Or if Shane saw...he'd likely get kicked out.

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Emory massaged her wrist as she walked back to the Greene's house to see if they needed her help.

She knew without a doubt, 100% that Daryl would never hurt her. Not on purpose. As she reflected back on what had happened, she could see that it was almost as if he'd acted reflexively, like when the doctor whacks your knee with that little mallet.

Emory also knew he would continue to beat himself up if he saw his finger marks imprinted on her skin. It was already turning deep purple and would likely be black by tomorrow. So, she would just have to make sure he didn't see. That nobody saw them.

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Emory woke up early in the morning to the throbbing of her wrist and the sounds of birds chirping. In the privacy of her tent, she was able to get a better look at the bruising and she saw it was a tad worse than she anticipated. No sundresses today that was for sure. Not for a few days probably.

'I can't let anyone see this. Not Daryl. And sure as hell not the others. Nobody!' She swore herself as she began to panic. She couldn't bear the thought that others might look at Daryl differently if they saw her arm.  
That they would simply judge Daryl without taking into account the extenuating circumstances.

So today she put on a long sleeve white t-shirt over khaki cargo pants with a coral hoodie. It looked a bit out of place given the heat and all. But she would think of something to explain it. Her wardrobe was the least of their worries and she already had the inklings of a plan forming.

She hadn't been out of her tent for five minutes before she was questioned about wearing a jacket in this heat.

"Yo Em! Ain't ya hot as hell in that getup? Course ya always look 'Hot'. But why ya got on a damn jacket? You looked so pretty in that dress yesterday. Could almost remind me of what things used to be like... when, well you know what I'm talkin' 'bout," Shane could be incredibly charming when he wanted to.

"That's really sweet Shane, I think?" Emory knew the best way to slide under Shane's radar was via flattery and flirtation.

"You're a very beautiful woman. S'part of what makes it so nice being here at this farm is seeing you all dress like ladies again," Shane decided to pour on the Walsh charm.

"You just earned extra points for flattery Officer Walsh," Emory held his gaze, letting her grey eyes sparkle, actually enjoying the 'game' of flirtation a little bit.

"To tell you the truth, it IS awful hot in this getup but I got sunburned on my arms and shoulders after spending all day yesterday in that dress. I think I'd rather sweat today than get burned again," Emory laughed as she lied far too easily and without even a moment's hesitation. That was one of the things that had disturbed her the most about working undercover...not how hard it had been to constantly lie, but how easy it had been for her to lie.

"I get it. Its a damn shame, but I get it. Take care a yerself," Shane gave her his 'I wanna see you later' smile and with a tip of his cap, he continued on about his business, obviously more important issues on his mind.

"You too Officer," she added that extra bit of ego boost as she waved to his retreating back. Realizing how successfully she navigated Officer Walsh's questions, she felt more confident.

Emory felt bad that she never went back to check on Daryl yesterday like she intended, primarily because she didn't think her sunburn excuse would have worked on him. But Carol had gone to check on him and assured her he was doing well, confirmed by the frequency and volume of his grumbling and grousing. But he had eaten everything on his plate and was starting to move about a bit without wincing.

So when Emory did go to check on him at his tent, she couldn't deny the disappointment she felt when she saw that he was already out and about. Doing God knows what! Probably more than he should.

She left Daryl's empty tent and joined the group where Daryl was already gathered around the campfire, enjoying a breakfast of real eggs. There was even some bacon which the Greene's had generously shared.

Suddenly Glenn stood up from his folding chair and with no preamble or warning blurted out, "Ummm... everybody...There's walkers in the barn!"

And then all holy hell broke loose.

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Emory still couldn't wrap her head around this. There were walkers in the barn! How could Hershel be keeping walkers in the barn?

From here in her tent, the barn looked so calm and serene. But the moans and grumbling and the rotten decaying fingers trying to squeeze through the wooden slats had quickly dissuaded her of that foolish notion. And now those old wooden boards and a thick rusty chain were all that stood between them and twenty to thirty walkers.

Hershel couldn't possibly really believe his loved ones could be saved...or even healed? He was a man of science...a veterinarian for chrissakes. But even after Rick told him everything Jenner had told them Hershel remained stalwart in his conviction.

Emory couldn't help but worry how Hershel's psyche would handle it when reality did finally rear its ugly head. Hershel was in such a deep, deep state of denial that it could push him over the edge. But that could not be her first concern right now. Today they had to survive.

Today her biggest concern was how badly the group was broken. Rick and Shane were barely even speaking after the confrontation at the barn. And Daryl and Shane had come to blows over the viability over the search for Sophia. And Dale obviously had an issue with Shane and now even Lori was acting peculiar.

Emory's entire body was sore from the constant stress and tension. And she didn't have any answers...none that felt right. She felt exhausted and alone.

She had no idea what Rick should do, but leaving this place to take their chances on the open road again held little appeal. And the idea of just abandoning Sophia. Well, that was simply not an option as far as she was concerned. Alive or dead, they had to find Sophia.

Emory pulled on her brown leather knee high boots, soft and supple but now badly stained from near constant wear. She decided she would patrol the fence line and look for breaks rather than get caught up in all the chaos still brewing over by the barn.

It turned out to be a lovely afternoon as she walked around the Greene's amazing sliver of paradise ...by some miracle still remained unscathed by walkers. Other than the ones Hershel chose to keep locked in the barn. Could that be part of why this place had been spared? Was Hershel actually doing the smartest thing for them all?

Emory took her time as she walked, frequently pausing to rub the muzzle of a horse or a cow that got close enough for her to touch. Breathing the sweet earthy smell of the crops almost

"It will all work out. Its just got to. Hershel will come around. He just has to. We can't lose all of this," she spoke aloud to nobody, ignoring the tears that leaked down onto her cheeks.

'I'm scared God. All the time. Is this my punishment? For all the lies? The ones I told myself were for the greater good. I was told that you'd not only understand but applaud. But I'm still here and part of me wonders is this my punishment." Emory hugged the gentle horse's neck and slowly stroked her mane.

"Thank you Nelly," she stroked the horse's nose. "But I'm still pissed at you for throwing Daryl."

Nelly neighed indignantly at Emory's reminder.

"I know, I know," she stroked the horse's chestnut main as she spoke soothingly. "He comes across as an ass at first, but you'll like him when you get to know him," Emory continued talking in low, soothing tones.

Nelly neighed again and shook her head, likely just shaking off flies. But it was ironically timed.

"We'll see. You're a filly...and he has a way..." Emory nuzzled Nelly. Finally Emory swatted her rump and sent her trotting back to the stalls.

Eventually, Emory made her way back to stalls. She rested both elbows up on the sturdy fence, cradled her chin in her fingers and stared out over the fields. It was such a strange juxtaposition - how peaceful parts of this farm could be yet there was such turmoil going on not 50-ft away from here.

"Leave me be, ya dumb bitch!" The ugly words came up from behind her and broke her peaceful reverie.

Emory snatched her head up, looking around for the source of the noise even though she was fairly sure it was Daryl.

Daryl furiously stormed out of the barn, badly limping and holding his side. His angry gaze settled upon her and for a brief second there was a flash of embarrassment.

He ignored her and stormed past. Before she could run to go catch up with him, a visibly upset Carol exited from the opposite side of the barn. Emory ran to check on Carol.

"Carol? Sweetie? Are you all right?" Emory held the visibly upset and shaken woman in her arms. Carol was so teeny compared to Emory, her head resting barely on Emory's shoulders.

"I'm ok. It's just...well, Daryl's so upset. I upset him," Carol's eyes filled with tears as she clarified.

"He looked more angry than upset to me," Emory continued to stroke Carol's frail back before pulling away to hear what else happened.

"Maybe he was. I don't really know. But that's how Daryl deals with emotional things. He does better with anger than sadness.". Carol seemed obliged to make what Daryl said not so bad.

"I told Daryl that I didn't want him to go out looking for Sophia today... not while he's still hurt. That I couldn't stand to lose him too," Carol trembled as tears leaked out. But it was her words that cut Emory to the bone.

"We're not losing anybody. Do you hear me? And he's not going out today either!" Emory did her best to assure Carol, despite the fact she had no idea how anyone got Daryl to do or not do anything. But she'd think of something. Truth was, she couldn't face losing him either.

"I'll go talk to him. You know he didn't mean it, right? Whatever he said in there, I'm sure he didn't mean it," Emory reminded Carol.

"I know," Carol sighed because she really did know he was only lashing out. Likely from frustration. But sometimes the lash still stung.

"Em?" Carol called. "Thank you,"

Emory paused to look back at Carol? taking in the pale face and puffy blue eyes. With a new resolve and determination she headed off to find Daryl.

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'Who does that bitch think she is? Telling me when I can and can't go where I wanna? That's just bullshit. She's Sophia's mama, not mine,' Daryl ranted to himself. 'Maybe if she watched Sophia like she does me, Sophia'd still be here!' He knew he was being mean and unfair but that was his pattern...his solace.

Daryl was self-aware enough to appreciate that it wasn't so much what Carol had said that angered him. It was more that she had lost faith. He saw it in her eyes and heard it in the quiver of her voice. Which clearly meant that she had lost faith in him.

He didn't really expect all that much from the others. But for some reason he'd expected Carol ... and maybe started to hope that Emory too had started to believe in him. But he'd fucked that up already...as only a Dixon can.

He'd sorta started hoping that he could earn his place with these people, to make up for all the shitty things he'd done early on. But most of all for the things none of them knew about...things Merle had planned. Even worse, things he would have likely gone along with back then.

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It took her awhile, but Emory finally found Daryl. She caught sight of him standing over by the marshy duck pond which was fed by that stream she'd bathed in. He stood so incredibly still, just staring out at the water whilst occasionally chewing on a blade of grass.

"There you are. I've been looking for you," Emory walked over to stand beside him, staring out at the crystal blue water also.

"Guess ya found me," Daryl replied but still not turning around to look at her.

"You're not the only one with 'killer' tracking skills," Emory nudged him with her shoulder but he just snorted indignantly back at her...reminding her of Nelly.

"Anyone ever tell you, you are a shitty patient," Emory smiled and tried to coax him out if his mood.

"Nope." Daryl had been a patient many times. Just never had anyone take enough notice or care of him to even notice if he was grumpy.

"Well you are." She clarified.

"You come all the way out here to tell me that?" He cut his eyes at her, still in his pissy mood.

"No. I came out here to talk to you. Find out what's crawled up your ass," Emory's eyes softened despite her crass words.

"What the hell? Ya goin' all Oprah now?" He snapped at her and tried to walk away but she wouldn't let him. She reached out and grabbed his hand to pull him back.

Big mistake. Her long sleeves rode up and exposed her wrist, revealing large black and blue fingerprints. His fingerprints.

Daryl stilled as his gaze sharpened. He held her hand firmly but gently while he pulled up the rest of her sleeve to see the extent of damage. He hissed in a breath, not wanting to believe that he'd really done this to her.

When she hadn't come back to check on him last night he had nearly convinced himself that it hadn't even happened. That it was just a drug-induced bad dream. But the proof was right here in his hands.

Emory held her breath as his rough fingers caressed the dark marks so gently it nearly made her weep. It was if by touching each mark he could somehow erase them.

"Daryl, please? Don't do this..." Emory started but Daryl cut her off.

"I did this," it wasn't a question. It was a statement. But the way he said it made her think he said it as some sort of internal mantra. More like a reminder to himself that 'I do this'.

"Daryl its fine! And I'm fine. Stop blaming yourself," Emory reached her hand up to tilt his chin to look at her.

"No! It ain't fine! I nearly broke your damn arm," Daryl yelled.

"Stop it. Please, just stop it." Emory voice trembled, which managed to cut through his rage.

"Look at me," she begged, relieved when he eventually complied.

"Andrea SHOT you. Dammit, she FUCKING shot you, and what did you do? You shrugged it off. You just forgave her like it was nothing." Emory reminded him. "You were far more pissed at Dale when he left those oily rags on Merle's damn motorcycle!"

"S'different," Daryl mumbled but her argument did actually start to break through his walls.

"So, when you _accidentally_ bruise my arm, suddenly you expect me to think you're what? Ed Peletier?" Emory brought up Carol's abusive husband who thankfully was dead.

"That ain't it," he mumbled even though that was nearly exactly it.

"Then what is it," Emory asked.

"It's just that...I mean, yer just... you...and I'm.." Daryl stammered as he struggled for the words.

"What? So Is this the Dixon version of 'its not me its you'?" Emory frowned as she struggled to comprehend what he was saying.

"You're well...You're know. You look like you do... smart, educated, a fricken' FBI secret agent Emory." Daryl stomped and kicked the dirt.

"Its actually Special Agent Phillips," Emory corrected. "Secret Agent implies CIA but of course they don't use that title."

"Whatever. Ya prob'ly dated those rich wall street types. I bet ya even had one of them BMW sports cars." Daryl felt his face heat up.

"If not for the dead walking around, the only chance of us meeting would be if you were arresting Merle. Cause you see this," he held her wrist again. "This is what Dixons do."

Emory's eyes widened, then she began to frown. He had created this rosy picture of her life and who she was...rather who she had been. Unfortunately it had zero resemblance to her reality.

"Oh wow! I don't even know where to begin. I mean you're just so incomprehensibly wrong... on every level!" Emory almost laughed it was so absurd.

"The last three years, I was working undercover in a piss-ant town in Wyoming. Those fancy dates I supposedly went on? The only times I ever dated the wall-street type was when I was trying to convict them. The only truly decent men I knew I either worked with or they were already married ... usually both," Emory swallowed while she let Daryl digest that.

"A good date for me was going out for a buffalo burger and a beer at the Outlaw Saloon. Seriously, it was called the Outlaw Saloon. Before that, I worked in Galvaston on a job that included more than a few trips to the offshore drilling rigs," Emory began poking her finger into his shoulder as she made her points.

"Do you have any idea what its like for a woman on one of those rigs? With men who haven't seen a woman in a long, long time? A woman who's also their boss? I was not some Kardashion wannabe... ," But this was not about her. This was about Daryl.

"As for what Dixons do to people? I can't speak for your entire family nor do I see the need. But I do see what **YOU** do for people. I see a man who brings a grieving woman flowers to give her hope. I see a man who goes out everyday to look for a lost little girl...a man who nearly lost his life doing so. A man who has single-handedly kept an entire camp fed with fresh meat for months! With rarely a thank you!" Emory's voice was laced with conviction and emotion.

"You're a man who takes care of things ... tends to things. But what you seem to have difficulty accepting is how much you are cared about," Emory finally finished, yearning to reach for him yet too cautious to do so.

Daryl's eyes squinted as he listened to her, trying to decide whether he could risk believing her. When she said these things it made him...if not actually believe, it made part of him at least want to believe.

Emory was nearly hypnotized by his searching blue eyes. The way they flashed with so many conflicting emotions all at once made her feel warm and fuzzy and a little dizzy. But then she made the mistake of glancing lower onto his lips. And before she could stop herself, she did it again.

She closed the few inches that separated them, and kissed him softly. Unlike last time, when the kiss was over nearly as soon as it started, this time she allowed herself the luxury to linger. She took her time and let her lips softly trace the firm outline of his mouth.

Emory began sliding her lips slowly over his. She kissed him for more than a minute occasionally letting the tip of her warm, pink tongue taste him. And she was still nowhere near satisfied...if anything she craved him more. But she also knew deep down that she shouldn't have even gone this far. Reluctantly she pulled away and sighed into his mouth.

Before it could get awkward, she looked away and took a single step backwards. She knew she should change the subject and get away... get away from him and gather her thoughts. No man had ever affected her like this. She felt like a girl of fifteen, not a woman of nearly thirty.

"You should probably go apologize to Carol," Emory suggested as she took yet another step away, figuring this was the most reasonable topic for transition. "You know you'll feel better after you do."

"Huh?" Daryl felt spun around, dizzy and disoriented. He was feeling like this practically every time he was around her lately.

"Carol," she reminded him. "You and she will both feel better after you talk," Emory made it sound like she was reminding him to return a library book.

Daryl just continued to stare at her in utter bewilderment. Talking about Carol was the LAST thing on his mind right now.

"I don't wanna fuckin' talk about Carol!" He yelled and Emory recoiled.

"I wanna know why ya just kissed me," Daryl's eyes were like blue laser crystals. "And why'ya kissed me yesterday?"

Emory's eyes widened and she took a thick gasp for air. Daryl was not the type of man to participate in this kind of discussion much less initiate it. This had been the absolute last thing she ever expected him to say.

"Uhhh, Well. You see I... I mean, you know ... its just..." Emory stammered as cognizant thought continued to elude her.

Truth was, Daryl was actually starting to enjoy seeing her like this...for once, not composed and in control. She always tried to come across as confidant and collected. But a simple question did this to her?

Emory waited for him to jump in any second. If she just kept stalling maybe he would? Maybe he would say something! Anything! Give her something to work with other than this direct 'to-the-point' bullshit.

Directness is far too over-rated, she silently mumbled to herself. She realized she could stall no more.

"I guess... I kissed you because wanted to." she finally just blurted it out. She took a deep breath and waited for the earth to swallow her up. When it didn't, Emory felt it safe to continue.

"That's right Daryl Dixon! I wanted to kiss you. And I liked it. So There! Are you happy now?" Emory's face burned with embarrassment she didn't hold back. But still he just kept staring...and watching... not saying a damn word.

'God, I am such an idiot.' Emory mentally berated herself for being such a fool. 'He doesn't feel like that about you. How much more obvious does he need to be before you take a goddamned hint?' . Romance in the apocalypse? She snorted at her own stupidity.

"I'm sorry Daryl. I shouldn't have done it and I won't do it again. I promise." She sighed then spun on her heel to run away. But she managed to force herself to keep her chin up, having to bite the inside of her lip to keep her tears at bay.

Once again Daryl's reflexes were freakishly fast. He grabbed her upper arm and pulled her around until they stood toe to toe, but this time his touch was impossibly gentle. In fact, his thumb began to slowly start stroking her arm through the soft fabric. She couldn't help but wonder what those rough hands would feel like on her bare skin.

"How come?" Daryl asked, fascinated by the slight tremble under his touch.

"Huh?". Emory had lost all ability to process thought much less speak coherently.

"How come ya won't do it again?" His voice was so husky and soft she wondered for an instant if he'd actually spoken at all. In fact, she'd been so distracted by his question that she didn't even notice that he'd pulled her closer. She could feel his breath on her cheek.

"Really, Daryl? Its kind of obvious that its not something you want," she muttered like he was stupid and bent her head to avoid his stare. Why was he doing this to her? This was just to the point of being cruel.

"Jeezus Daryl. I said I was sorry! You don't have to humiliate me too!" Emory felt better when she could work up a mad, despite the fact that her ire was mostly manufactured.

"What do you want from me?" She cried out as she twisted her arms out of his grip.

Daryl could feel his heart thundering in his chest and knew she must be able to hear it. What more did he want? Christ that question was so loaded it could be a weapon.

He wanted so many things. Things he'd only allowed himself to fantasize about in the late hours of night or in his dreams where his conscious mind would take over. But in this moment he wanted only one thing.

"This is what I want," before he could chicken out he reached for her and pulled her close. He slammed his lips to hers. There was no tongue, no intertwining and seduction. He just needed to press his lips to hers. To simply touch her in that intimate way and feel their softness again.

Within seconds the initial shock wore off for them both, but neither pulled away. He started to slowly slide his lips over hers, and Emory slid her hands up his chest where she gripped the soft cotton fabric, fingers clenching and unclenching in a softly rhythmic motion. Daryl's hands left her arms to sweetly cup each side of her face. His touch was so delicate it was as if he was afraid she might turn and run away.

Daryl had never actually kissed a woman. Not like this anyway. Not long, sweet, seductive kisses. Kisses that made you shudder and yearn for more. So when he felt the tip of her tongue peek out and trace the lines of his lower lip, he moaned and his hips thrusted involuntarily.

Emory pulled away to catch a slight breath...and to give Daryl a moment to pull away if he wanted to. It would hurt terribly if he did, she admitted, but he deserved that opportunity.

The moment her eyes met his she was sunk. They practically glowed with desire, heat, energy and something even more. The feeling was exhilarating it caused her thighs to tremble and nearly fail her. She was finally experiencing things her girlfriends spoke so casually of

She crept her hands up over his broad shoulders, her fingers lightly tracing the muscular cuts of his arm. She laced her fingers through his hair, pulling him to her. Wanting him to continue.

Daryl loved the feeling of her pulling at him. Needing him. Her soft fingers stroking but insistent.

His tongue traced her mouth the way she had done to him before, then he cautiously slid his tongue between her lips. Shr parted her mouth and met his tongue, slowly and intimately exploring. Her tongue felt like honeyed velvet against his, warm and wet, sliding back and forth before tangling once again.

She couldn't help but moan into his mouth when he took control. That was just who he was...all dominant man. When she zigged, he zagged. He became the aggressor, sliding and taking over.

His hands tugged at her long hair so as to tilt her face up, giving him more access. Not only to her mouth, but to the soft tender skin of her neck and collarbone...and the tiny mole under her ear.

The sheer rawness of his sensuality made it all the more intense. Her tongue stroked his neck like warm whiskey and he tasted like salt and man. He swallowed her moan and it made him quiver all the way down to his ...belly.

His hand slid up under her shirt to her caress her soft back, and his other hand tangled in her hair. It was still halfway up in some sort of band but when he pulled gently, her hair tumbled down over her shoulders and down her back. He took his time and let his fingers sift through the silkiness before holding her closer. He knew she could feel 'him' pressing into her abdomen, but with Emory, it excited him more...particularly when she moaned and grinded back against him.

"Christ...Daryl..." Emory finally whimpered into his ear as her knees buckled and she had no choice but to hold onto his shoulders for support. He loved the way she held on to him. But the way she cried out his name encouraged him to continue. Knowing that Emory was actually becoming weak in the knees. That was fuckin' hot!

He moved on to kissing her neck and she started nibbling and sucking on his ear. She hooked her arms even tighter around his neck for support. Every so often her warm breath would blow into his ear and it somehow seemed to send electricity straight to his dick ...which now was straining furiously against his trousers.

Emory wasn't sure they would have ever stopped kissing if they hadn't been startled by the rustling coming from the woods. In fact, Emory wondered how much more they could have kept things at just kissing without moving on to the next stage.

With no discussion, they both instantly switched into fighting mode and pulled their weapons. He didn't have his crossbow so pulled a large hunting knife.

Daryl crouched down and pulled her behind him, giving her the universal 'hush' signal as he instantly transitioned from crazed passionate lover to focused hunter and warrior. And protector.

Emory held her breath as she watched a tiny fawn slowly enter the meadow, its little legs still a bit unsure. Emory couldn't help a silent "Awww" that formed at her lips at the sight of the adorable creature.

Emory knew they needed to eat, but Emory was happy that Daryl didn't have his crossbow with him. Then they both watched as the fawn's mother padded out from the woods to stand in front of fawn, as if to protect her baby from them.

"Dammit," Daryl muttered, cursing himself for not even bringing a shotgun.

"They'd have fed us for a week." He lamented, saying it loud enough to scare the two away.

"You know I had my gun," Emory reminded and cocked her eyebrow at him. Daryl just shrugged.

"If I didn't know better, I might ALMOST think you didn't want to really kill Bambi and his mom... what with how loud you were being," Emory smirked at him. Before he could hurl a protest, she reached for his hand and threaded her fingers in his to pull him along. Emory knew Daryl was in no way ready for things like hand-holding in public so she released his hand then looked over her shoulder at him..

"I wasn't bein' loud! You were," Daryl had to say something, but the grin he wore the entire walk back said he was ok with how things worked out. Well maybe, things coulda gone a tad bit better?


	5. Chapter 5-I Don't Bluff

Emory couldn't stop thinking about Daryl and that kiss yesterday. It was far and away the best kiss of her life. It wasn't like she had never been kissed before or anything.

She'd dated men from a variety of walks of life... . Even a few real dates but sadly, for the most part they were undercover dates. Before this walker shit started happening she'd actually started worrying that there was something wrong with her. She could go through the motions but she had never felt that electrified passionate woozy feeling her girlfriends had described in such hot detail.

But no man had ever curled her toes and made her belly tremble like Daryl had earlier this afternoon. She'd nearly melted into a pile of jelly. It made her feel euphoric but also scared, vulnerable and weak...like she no longer had control over herself.

And Daryl? Did he feel anything? Sure, he'd responded physically to her but he hadn't said a word to her during their walk back. Then, as soon as they reached camp, Daryl caught sight of Carol and hurried to go talk to her...leaving Emory alone to digest everything that had just happened.

Emory was trying to sort through all the intense thoughts and feelings tumbling around and around in her head. What she really needed was something to do. Anything to take her mind off her raging hormones and a certain hot redneck.

Emory, at first, busied herself with tidying up her tent. She borrowed Dale's broom to sweep it out and then shook out her sleeping bag. Her meager laundry was already done so she went to Dale's RV to clean her weapons making sure she kept one with her this time. She decided it would be best if she patrolled the perimeter again.

She zipped up her tent before heading out but frowned when she heard faint noises. Hiccups followed by ...was that crying? Emory turned around and around the empty camp to try and locate the source. Was that coming from Rick's tent? She tiptoed closer to check.

"Lori? Honey? Can I come in?" Emory quietly called out at the entrance of the Grimes' tent. She could see the dark haired woman lying supine on her cot. Emory noticed the cots were equadistantly separated. Apparently there was no snuggling up together for Rick and Lori.

"Sweetie, what's got you so upset?" Emory entered and turned to re-zip the tent up before she rushed to Lori's side, pulling her up to look at her.

Lori's eyes were dead and Emory couldn't fathom what was wrong. Carl was better and she had her husband return from the dead. Emory felt Lori's forehead but there was no fever. Before Emory continued her rudimentary physical exam up until Lori stopped her.

"Em, stop it. You were right. More times than I can remember. I just can't do it! I really cannot do it," Lori sobbed into Emory's neck, snot dripping and her hair was tangled and sweaty.

"I know its been really hard lately, for you in particular...but you CAN do it! You HAVE to! What about Carl? You just need some rest." Emory traced the worry lines on Lori's face as she soothed.

"Why don't you just stay here and take a nap. I can watch Carl, do laundry and cook. Whatever you need!" Emory insisted before she caught the look of horror on Lori's face.

"Ok, so for the good of the group, I won't cook?" Emory smiled bashfully. Nobody brought it up anymore (at least not to her face)... not since back at the quarry when she'd ruined the entire pot of venison stew by burning it. She then tried desperately to save it with a combination of dill, cinnamon, pepper and allspice (anything and everything she'd found in Dale's RV). Even Daryl nor Morales' dog had been able to eat it. Emory's only claim to fame was that she still cooked better than Andrea.

"Its not that," Lori's began sobbing again.

"Do you want to tell me what it is?" Emory continued to massage Lori's too thin back.

"I'm pregnant," Lori finally blurted it out. It didn't much matter anymore since Glenn and Rick already knew ...oh, and how could she forget that Maggie knew as well.

"Oh! I take it we are not celebrating?" Emory observed cautiously. She could tell things were not so cut and dried. Emory, along with most of the group, knew things had not been completely platonic between Lori and Shane.

"I had Glenn bring me some Morning After pills," Lori told her, her chin quivering as she spoke.

"Dear God, did you take them? Are you ok? You must know they aren't abortion pills?" Emory had a few girlfriends who had taken plan B, but they'd done so literally the morning after. Not weeks or months after becoming pregnant.

"I threw them up," Lori's eyes were now dead as she looked up at Emory.

"So, does that mean you want to have this baby?" Emory asked, trying to sound supportive and neutral. But deep down inside, every fibre of her being was screaming 'No...Don't Do It. Are you crazy?"

"I don't. God help me but I don't. I'm ashamed to admit this, but part of me wondered at the time if it wouldn't be better if Carl passed. You can appreciate all the reasons why." Lori felt better discussing this with someone who didn't instantly judge her.

"But you threw up the pills?" Emory asked again.

"Rick found the pill wrappers and he didn't take it very well. I had already puked them up though, so that's not on him. But he truly believes this baby has a chance." Lori spoke as if she was doing so by rote.

"And YOU? What do YOU think?" Emory asked, not yet bringing up the whole Shane equation. But this pregnancy could seriously damage not just Lori's marriage and her health but the entire group's stability.

"I don't want this baby. I'm sorry, but I just can't do it. I'm not one of those women from Pearl Buck's 'The Good Earth'. I can't just squat down in a field. Hell, I nearly died giving birth to Carl. And that was in a hospital where I could have a C-section.," Lori cried.

"What if we have to run again? What if we come across another herd...or worse, the kind of people that attacked that nursing home. I either have to risk the safety of the group or smother my baby like that last 'Mash' episode.. How can I live like that?" Lori was no dummy and had obviously thought this through.

"Lori, you have my full support in whatever YOU want to do. But have you talked to Shane about the baby?" Emory had to ask.

"You know?" Lori's eyes pleaded with her to say no.

"I'm sorry but yes...we all pretty much knew." Emory didn't waste her time on a lie, even when Lori groaned with humiliation. Emory qualified her answer.

"It wasn't that we ever saw you two do anything. Its just that...the way he looks at you... there was so much love and affection between you and Shane, we all just assumed. Most of us thought he was Carl's dad until I overheard Carl and Sophia talking," Emory told her the truth, part of her wondering if Lori might actually be better off with Shane.

"I haven't seen you laugh...or smile since the day Rick returned," Emory told her honestly. And it wasn't that Emory didn't think the world of Rick. But it seemed Lori and Rick were connected by duty and their love for Carl. But little else. No laughter. No tender caresses.

"I thought my husband was dead! If I'd known, I never would have...But then the world fell apart and Shane was there. For me and for Carl. We would never have made it without him," Lori defended her choices.

"Shane loves you both and took amazing care of you. You don't have to convince me!" Emory encouraged Lori to own this. "So, let me ask you again. Do YOU want to carry this baby no matter who the father is?" Emory asked one more time.

"It doesn't sound like you are even able to deliver this baby vaginally," Emory continued to probe, well aware that before the 1960's, childbirth was the most frequent cause of death for women.

"But we have Hershel now?" Lori tried to force some optimisn..

"For now. But we have no idea what we'll have access to in...? What? Five or six months?" Emory tried to guesstimate Lori's due date.

"If you want to carry this baby to term, we will all support you. You know that!" Emory assured the gaunt woman.

"But it has to be YOUR call. You, most of all, know all the dangers of childbirth," Emory spoke without sugarcoating anything.

"I don't want this baby. It doesn't matter who the father is. I can't do it," Lori broke down and sobbed, her entire body trembling in fear..

"Ok, honey. Ok. If you want my help to figure it out, I'm here. If you want help to terminate, I'm here. Plan B is unreliable and dangerous at your stage. We need to get you some Mifepristone (aka RU486).. Or else we have to somehow convince Hershel to do an abortion. I'll talk to Glenn in a bit about going on a run," Emory assured the pale woman.

"Em? Thank you! I needed this...To talk this out with someone who ... doesn't have an agenda," Lori dried her eyes, starting to feel better and more in control

"I'll be here for you. Whenever you want to talk," Emory reassured her while stroking her bony back.

"Emory. You'll keep this to yourself?" Lori's eyes began darting back and forth with fear.

"Goes without saying. You just tell me how I can help." Emory promised.

"I know I've been bossy and self-absorbed. But still you're here," Lori began crying again.

"I'm your friend Lori," Emory shrugged.

"Thanks. You know, I haven't been so self-absorbed not to have noticed the sparks between you and Daryl?" Lori grinned for the first time in ages, happy to talk about something other than her own shit.

"Sparks? Daryl? Lori, maybe you are losing it. It must be the pregnancy hormones," Emory tried to play it off. It was still so new and she didn't want to mess it up by blabbing.

"Emory, please! Why do you think we had to stop using paper plates and napkins? It wasn't cause we ran out. When Daryl looks at you, its explosive!" Lori laughed, enjoying having the attention on Emory and not herself. "Your reaction makes me think he's already set something ablaze."

"Stop it! You're just saying that so I don't feel like such a hag," Emory had been far too worried about her own staring that she had never noticed if Daryl ever looked back.

"Emory? Sweetie? You can't possibly not know!" Lori asked with an incredulous tone as she stared into Emory's wide silver eyes, her pupils large and dilated.

"We kissed." Emory blurted out of nowhere after sitting in silence for nearly a minute.

"Come on! Ya can't possibly just leave me like that? I need details!" Lori squealed, grateful to experience something as normal as gossip.

"Well, it was toe-curling, heart-stopping and without a doubt the best kiss of my entire life." Emory blushed as she admitted, welcoming the flush of warmth as she remembered.

"Damn! Those are the best aren't they," Lori reminisced herself.

"I can't stop thinking about him!" Emory agreed.

"When did you last experience a kiss like that?" Emory asked, partially because of curiosity and partially because Lori looked like she needed to remember.

"I'd been set up on a date with Rick by my best friend. I didn't initially want to go. I was working two jobs, saving money for fall tuition, so I felt really haggard. But she said he was cute so I made minimal effort and showed up." Lori's eyes watered as she spoke and Emory wished she had a bottle of wine to offer. These conversations were best shared over numerous bottles of wine. Except Lori can't have wine ...for now.

"I walked in and there he was. It was like in a movie where all the periphery gets hazy. Rick stood up and looked at me... those gorgeous blue eyes just captivated me. My heart started pounding so hard I thought I was going to pass out," Lori's eyes became fuzzy as she remembered.

"Did you make the walk of shame," Emory teased, knowing Lori needed this.

"I did...I had all these plans. To get my degree, to become a lawyer," Lori suddenly became lost in what could have been.

"If you ask me and Andrea, you made the right call," Emory had long felt that Lori resented Andrea and herself because of all she'd chosen to give up.

"And now you... its your turn," Lori nudged

"I seriously doubt that Daryl has any inclination to get serious, unlike Rick. I just need to stay busy. Daryl probably hasn't even thought twice about me," Emory confided.

"Emory, we've all gotten to know Daryl pretty well these past months. He can be pissy, cranky, and sometimes violent. But when he looks at you...damn girl. Forget all you think you know about how things should be. This is our reality and he's right here, right now. In fact I would bet our entire weapons stash that Daryl's in love with you." Lori insisted.

"He won't be an easy man to love, but the good ones rarely are," Lori spoke her advice which Emory listened to and digested.

"It looks like we both have our work cut out for us," Emory held out a hand to pull Lori up.

"Well, then I suppose we should get on with it," Lori smiled and held Emory's hand.

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Daryl hesitated when he found Carol, but finally garnered the nerve to apologize to her. It went much better than he expected...or deserved, Truth be told it did actually make him feel better, so he grabbed his gear and decided to go look for Sophia despite the late hour. With his crossbow slung over his back he entered his sanctuary...the forest.

The golden light filtered through the lush green leaves and welcomed him more than any welcome mat. He told himself he was looking for Sophia but he knew that was mostly a lie.

He was out here to figure things out. He'd always done his best problem solving in the woods. It had kept him out of foster care all those years and had served him even better once he'd turned 18. He'd been able to put food on his table and by working hard he'd been able to keep cash in his pocket, which he'd immediately put in the bank to hide from Merle and his Pa.

But he still couldn't get Emory out of his mind, no matter how far he trekked. Hell, his skin still tingled from yesterday's kiss. A damn kiss was all. Sure, she'd kissed him in his tent the other day... But what they'd done yesterday? To call that just a kiss didn't seem even close. It felt more like having sex...with their mouths! It was truly even more than that but neither Daryl or Emory were ready to face it.

Growing up in his house, you 'nailed sum cheap pussy', 'ya got sum', 'made so and so give ya a hummer,' 'ya did her' and the filth went on and on. Instead of joining in, Daryl usually retreated into himself, hating how their discussions made him feel.

But to hold Emory in his arms, to be able to run his hands up and down her soft skin. To have her moan into his mouth as he did so? He'd wanted nothing more than to slide her clothes off and taste every inch of her.

The biggest encouragement was to find out that she didn't hate him. Even after what he'd done to her wrist, she still looked at him with caring and desire, those amazing silver eyes still shone up at him like he could be so much more than he ever thought.

She was so much better than him. It was just the way it was. It wasn't just the degrees upon degrees or her job with the FBI. There was just an air of goodness in her. He couldn't even fathom what it would have been like if he had met her before all the shit went down.

He'd already seen Shane flirting with Emory, at least a dozen times since Rick miraculously reappeared. Shane seemed to have backed off Emory lately, but it didn't come across as though it had been his choice. Regardless of the reason, Shane seemed to have moved on to Andrea, which was fine with Daryl.

She said she'd wanted to kiss him. She'd admitted it to his face, and the burn on her cheeks made him believe her. And he wanted more. He didn't want a quickie...

Fuck this! He fired his arrow and dropped a wild pheasant. He had no idea how to woo a woman. But, he could damn well feed and protect her. That, he was good at.

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"Shane! Please! Just shut the fuck up!" Emory threw her finished plate down in frustation, sick of the arguing. To see Emory lose it again instantly garnered everyone's attention.

"We all get it! You don't think its safe! Yada yada yada. So if you are so afraid of those walkers in the barn, why don't you just go and head to Fort Benning? Take that new ride of yours and leave. If you think you're odds are better out there than staying her in this ...Paradise, what's stopping you?" Emory knew she was digging her knife in, but was past the point of caring.

"Ya'll gonna just listen ta this stupid bitch?" Shane snarled at her, stepping toe to toe with Emory over the campfire.

"Did you ever wonder why this place was has yet to be overrun? Could it be the concentrated stench of death in the barn? I get that those folks are gone. But regardless of why they're there, you have to at least wonder if it has something to do with how we're able to sleep well tonight?" Emory ranted.

"Emory makes sense," Dale stood up and interjected, glancing at Lori for help. "The rest of us are ok with the walkers in the barn, as long as its secure. I mean, up until we knew about it, we were all not only fine with it, but grateful. They're locked up and contained. This is the safest place we've ever stayed."

"Maybe we need to consider that there might be something rather brilliant to this? Perhaps its the scent of so many walkers trapped in that barn that has kept this farm untouched.. Instead of criticizing, perhaps we should accept it and learn from it. I mean, is it really just coincidence that this farm has done so well?" Emory's analytic brain couldn't help but voice itself.

"You don't know shit Emory! Rick? Ya can't be good with this?" Shane shouted and begged for support from his former partner, his entire body twitching with anger and frustration.

"I can and I am! We have food here! Water! We have medical care! And we at least know where the walkers are," Rick barely paused as he continued to eat his meal. "And Emory has a good point. Those walkers in the barn may partly be why Hershel's farm is still here and the neighboring ones are all overrun." Rick threw Emory's logic and smarts in Shane's face.

"Shane? I get that you don't agree. But can you accept Rick's call?" Emory passed him back his bowl of food, trying to cautiously mend fences.

Shane's eyes blazed at Emory and she knew he'd punch her if he could. Instead he slammed the food out of her hand and into the fire. Shane stood up and glared at Emory, black eyes dead and full of hatred. With a dramatic stomp, he stormed off into the dark woods.

Emory wiped the thrown food off her shorts and her eyes met Lori's. Please end this, she begged with her eyes. But Lori had too much going on to decipher Emory's glances. Or maybe she simply didn't want to?

The group ate in awkward silence around the campfire. Emory helped with cleanup and then grabbed her clean clothes to head toward the Greene's house for a shower.

Maggie let her in and escorted her upstairs to her bathroom. She had also been kind enough to leave her a new disposable razor. Emory scrubbed and scrubbed, grateful to wash away the grime. She shaved her legs first so as not to waste hot water. Emory then moved on to her underarms and finally her bikini area, refusing to admit that Daryl played any part in the extra care she took. After stepping out, Emory towel dried her hair as best she could then hung up her damp towel to dry.

Today's events were not only fresh, but raw in her memory. There was all the business with Shane...and Lori...and Rick...and Dale. Carol and Sophia. Carl. Daryl! It all made her head ache. It was exhausting!

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Daryl had been tense and edgy, all during dinner. He'd gripped his dinner plate the entire time, prepared to toss it any instant and lay into Shane's sorry ass. He could just tell Shane wanted to hit Emory... The fucker was practically licking his lips. And that made him want to mess Shane up even more.

After dinner, Daryl waited in the shadows and watched over Emory. She helped clean dishes and then she ducked into her tent to grab her things. She walked over to the Greene's house with her stuff under her arm.

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Emory figured her hair was sufficiently towel dried. She pulled on a pair of short shorts and a t-shirt, not worried about anyone seeing her bruises since she was just walking to her tent in the dark.

She tucked her knife into the waistband of her shorts and let the screen door slam behind her. She looked around the yard for walkers, primarily out of habit, trying to stay alert despite the apparent safety of the farm. Emory figured the coast was clear and she headed out across the dark field to their tents.

"Emory?" She startled, surprised as shit to hear Daryl call for her.

"Daryl? Is that you?" She tried to focus into the darkness but her eyes had yet to adjust.

He walked over to in the darkness and pulled her possessively to him. He didn't trust the living or the dead all that much. Not when it came to Emory he realized.

"Ya smell good," he commented before realizing he'd said anything.

"Thank you. Its cucumber and mint according to the label on the shower gel," Emory felt not only clean, but incredibly sexy too. Thankfully the hair on her legs was a stubbly memory.

"S'late. I should get you back to yer tent," Daryl muttered, trying his best to be noble. Doing what he imagined Rick would do. That's what she deserved.

Emory caught the flicker of desire in his eyes and knew without a doubt. She didn't want to be nobly escorted to her tent. She wanted him to desperately drag her to his.

"Are you very tired?" Emory sidled a little closer, tentatively lacing her fingers in his hand, her eyes full of concern. She waited with baited breath for him to answer, fidgeting as she did so.

"Ain't tired," Daryl shrugged, liking the warmth in his chest as he answered. He also liked how her fingers tightened around his hand.

"Come on, then," she pulled his hand and he followed. She dropped her clothes in her tent, and then grabbed a blanket. Daryl carried the blanket for her as they walked the fields. They stayed near the house and within the fenced perimeter, but still a secluded spot.

He spread the blanket out. Emory crawled atop the soft, thick fabric to find a good spot to stare at the stars. She pulled on Daryl's hand, encouraging him to join her. Soon they were lying side by side, staring at the night sky.

"When you look out at the stars like this its hard to imagine just how messed up things are back down here," Emory whispered.

"You one of those chicks that knows all the constellations and shit," Daryl turned his head to stare at her profile. In that moment with only the moonlight to illuminate her she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"No. I don't know a one. I've heard of Orion and I guess there's a bear and some other stuff up there." Emory chuckled.

"Other stuff?" Daryl mocked her.

"Screw you, I was an agent, not an astronomer," Emory laughed. She turned to her side and propped her neck up on her elbow.

"Why do you keep doing that? Make me out to be some hoity toity princess all the time? I was just a nerdy engineer working undercover, usually in a very un-posh environment," Emory reached up to smooth another stray hair from his face, going slow this time.

"I guess I just can't imagine you doin' stuff like that," he admitted, enjoying how she laced her fingers with his again, her thumb gently stroking the top of his hand..

"What? Getting up and going to work every mornin'?" she reminded.

"That ain't what I meant," Daryl felt the flush of embarrassment return to his cheeks.

"I know. I just hate that you have created this fantasy about my life that bears no resemblance to my real life." Emory told him.

"Sorry. Tell me the truth then," Daryl relaxed and began stroking her hand with his thumb.

"For the most part the guys were good...hard-working and decent ... a little rough around the edges, kinda like Merle. They liked to test your mettle. See if you had what it takes. God help you if you didn't," Emory explained what Daryl had long ago learned.

"It was the white collar coke fiends that were the worst," Emory cringed at the memory. "So entitled and protected...and the money? It could make your head spin."

Some of her dearest friends, she'd met during those tough first months. She hoped that many of them were likely still alive. The Northern Rockies would isolate them and the population was so much smaller.

"Merle liked ya, ya know," Daryl wasn't sure why he said it, but he wanted to. It wasn't like Merle liked all that many people. "Said ya didn't look at us like trash."

"I never thought you were trash," she assured him, touched by his concern.

Daryl looked over at her and nodded. Not sure what to say.

"What about you? Any girlfriends back home?" She curled into the crook of his arm, resting her head on his shoulder and letting her long hair tangle about. When he remained silent she continued.

"Were you ever married? Any kids?" Emory wondered aloud.

"Hell no!" Daryl snorted, obviously offended by the question.

"Sorreeee! It was a reasonable question. Its not like I asked if you flew to the moon," Emory refused to let him intimidate her with his moods.

"Ya know I ain't had no wife or kids. Ya ever married? Ya got kids?" Daryl snapped back awkwardly.

"No, but I...well, a long time ago I used to dream. Given all this...maybe it was for the best," she answered just as awkwardly, ignoring the tears that leaked out and trickled down her cheeks.

"I'm cold. I think I'm gonna head back," Emory sighed trying not to let him see her hurt. She curled her legs around and got up to her knees to leave.

Daryl knew he'd fucked up the instant the harsh words left his mouth. Snapping and snarking at people were practically reflexive, nearly as natural to him as breathing. But before, he'd never cared what his words did to people. But he did now. Except he had no idea how people did this. How guys like Rick did this?

"Em...I'm sorry. Don't go. Please come back here," he pulled her back down into his arms, this time snugging his free hand around her waist tightly and reaching his other over her stomach to link his hands together. Under the guise of warming up, she sneaked her hand under his vest to rest on his chest.

"That better?" He bent down, his lips soft against her hair. He felt her nod yes against his chest, and he couldn't remember a time he felt this good. And he'd nearly blown it by snapping at her.

"Ummm. This is nice," her hand stroked his chest over the fabric, wishing his chest was bare.

"Daryl?" She lifted her head up to look at him. "Back at the pond? That was...well, it was...I mean, I really...you know" Emory was doing it again. Babbling like a fool.

"I like it when ya do that...get all jumbly," Daryl chuckled, then lifted his own head up to turn on his side to face her.

"Are you making fun of me?" Emory reached her hand up to caress his cheek.

"No," Daryl nodded his head.

"Daryl? Are you ever going to be the one to kiss me?" Emory begged, yet all the while hating herself for doing so because it kind of defeated the whole point. But in that moment she really give a shit.

Daryl's eyes glinted in the moonlight making her belly do that tumbly thing again.

"I'm pretty sure I will," Daryl admitted but then paused to tease...just before leaning in to claim her lips with his own.

Emory sighed into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck to hold him close, her fingers driving him crazy with their soft dance on the skin of his neck.

Emory rolled onto her back, carrying him on top with her and spreading her thighs so he could settle between them. She raised her knees up to hold him even tighter to him.

When they finally both gasped for air, they took that opportunity to explore one another. Emory placed hot wet kisses on his neck, on his throat, then made her way slowly up to his ear making Daryl groan with pleasure. And that just turned her on even more.

Daryl couldn't help but shudder and involuntarily thrust against her through their clothes. He tensed as he waited for her to shove him away, but she only raised her knees to allow him to get closer.

"Emory?" They both stilled as they heard the shrill voice from afar.

Emory pointed to Daryl and raised her finger to her lips, using the international symbol for 'shush'.

"Emory! Where are you?" Lori called out again as she walked out further, her flashlight making her a beacon.

"I'm right here Lori. Just staring up at the stars!" Emory stood up in the tall grass, while Daryl remained hidden.

"Ok, just hurry on back. Its not safe out here after dark," Lori couldn't help but revert to Mom-voice. "You know that!"

Once Lori turned back, Emory and Daryl both scrambled to gather up the blanket and head back to camp. Neither of them were even remotely prepared to address the intensity of their feelings.

-TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Emory slept fitfully after Daryl insisted on escorting her safely back to her tent. But she'd basically spent the entire night dreaming of Daryl, and what happened last night...and also what hadn't happened...even more specifically, what she'd wanted to happen.

Since she was already wide awake she quickly threw on denim shorts and a t-shirt, and then her boots. The tall, leather ones that had protected her more than once from crawlers, which was why she considered them her 'Lucky' boots.

She knew the others were still asleep but a whinnying from the barn caught her attention. She walked over to find Daryl exiting the horse barn.

"Yer up early," he spoke, suddenly bashful.

"As are you," she countered, walking up to stand a foot or so away from him.

"Gotta go find Sophia," he said simply but Emory knew just how emotionally involved he was.

"You be careful out there today," she ordered as she took another step closer, unable to even fathom this world without him in it.

"Always am," Daryl turned away, suddenly embarrassed.

"Liar!" She playfully accused as she pressed a gentle hand to his head. Then she leaned close and briefly kissed him on the lips. Then just as quickly she stepped back.

Daryl could only stare at her, her dark hair shining with gleaming gold highlights in the morning sunlight and her eyes shining up at him like precious metal.

"Well, that's a piss poor kiss from someone who sounds all worried an' shit," Daryl finally got the nerve to speak up, teasing her and surprising Emory with such playfulness.

"Maybe you need to teach me a lesson?" Emory flirted back, letting him walk her backwards until she was pinned against the rough hewn barn wall.

"Yea, I think maybe I should," Daryl's hands slid up from her waist to cup her face, stroking her jaw with his thumbs as his blood began to thrum through his veins. Only then did he lean in and kiss her thoroughly, his tongue plundering and exploring. He kissed her until she was breathless, clinging to his shoulders and begging for more. Reluctantly they broke apart.

"I think I'd like to amend my prior statement." Emory spoke huskily into his mouth, kissing just the corners.

"Get back here safe and sound VERY SOON...so you can finish what you started," Emory ordered, her fingers gripping the fabric of his sleeveless shirt.

With a satisfied smile Daryl strode off into the woods, with a little extra swagger to his step, encouraged by this morning's events. And damned if he wasn't eager to get back VERY SOON.

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Emory couldn't stop smiling the entire day, despite the added workload. Earlier in the morning she ordered Lori to sleep in and rest, then slipped out of the Grimes tent with her arms full of laundry. She and Carol actually enjoyed their time together, chitchatting and laughing together while they washed clothes, grateful for use of the well water from the other non-contaminated well.

"So, you and Daryl, huh?" Carol smirked as she peeked over to catch a reaction from Emory.

"Me and Daryl what?" Emory pretended to not know what she was talking about.

"Oh please, you've been glowing all morning. And Daryl had quite the swagger when he headed out to look for Sophia this morning. I can't possibly imagine who or what was behind that barn," Carol teased, letting Emory know she'd seen something.

"Oh, God No!" Emory gasped out loud. "Carol, please tell me you didn't see us?"

"Damn! I didn't but now, based on your reaction, I kinda wished I had. It must have hot to get you so beet red," Carol teased but knew when to ease back.

"Emory, this is a good thing. You two are so perfect for each other. I was a bit afraid Daryl would never get around to acting on his feelings though." Carol set down the damp clothes to grab Emory's hand.

"I really didn't mean to embarrass you. I guess I just thought it would be nice to hear about something good going on, you know? Everything else around here is just so ... tense." Carol reminded Emory.

"I'm sorry. I guess I over-reacted a bit. Its just so new and all, and I really don't even know what it is we have...if anything," Emory admitted, surprised at how nice it felt to talk to another woman.

"He cares about you so very much, I know that. Its actually rather beautiful to watch," Carol assured her with complete sincerity, while resuming her washing.

"How can you say that? Up until recently, the only time Daryl and I ever spoke was just to snap at each other," Emory reminded Carol.

"First of all, if he didn't care about you, he wouldn't get so riled up. Second, the man simply CANNOT keep his eyes off of you. As soon as he walks into camp, the first thing he does is look for you. Then he spends the rest of the time trying not to look, but unable to do so, so he tries to limit his glances to every few minutes," Carol had watched Daryl struggle since back at the quarry.

"Has he kissed you yet?" Carol asked boldly, eager for some juicier gossip.

"Last night was the first time he kissed me...then, of course, that kiss this morning. But I actually kissed him first. When Andrea shot him, I was so pissed at him for getting hurt, that I cried and then I ...I just kissed him.," Emory could laugh about it now but at the time the intense emotions were overpowering.

"Oh my, that must have surprised the hell out of him," Carol laughed, trying to visualize Daryl's reaction.

"I guess he probably was, but I ran out of the room before I could see how he reacted," Emory explained.

"And? Is he a good kisser?" Carol continued to probe.

"So good it ought to be illegal. He makes me tingle down to my ...toes. And my head starts to spin. I've never been kissed like that in my entire life," Emory sighed as she thought back on this morning.

"I had a feeling he would be. The way he notices everything, and is so tactile and sensual." Carol had observed how he always pays such close attention to everything

"Are you two officially a couple now? Or should I keep this between us?" Carol also knew just how private Daryl...and Emory were.

"Just keep it between us...at least for now. I mean...I kind of hope we are. Or we become one, but I can't speak for Daryl. That's likely more than he is looking for. He might be looking for something with... less commitment, ya know?" Emory admitted, hating how frustrating it could be to not know if he felt as strongly for her as she did him.

"That doesn't seem like Daryl. Merle maybe, but not Daryl." Carol assured her.

"Carol. I love you, I hope you know that," Emory smiled at Carol, then grabbed the basket of clean wet clothes and walked with Carol over to the clothesline.

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He'd stood in the woods, listening to Carol and Emory talk. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but he really wanted to have a private moment with Emory. But Carol's presence never gave him the opportunity. But when he heard the topic of their conversation, he couldn't resist. He silently crept closer, making sure he remained well hidden.

He watched them head back with their baskets of wet clothes, planning on when and how he could get Emory alone. He didn't want anyone else to know, so it would have to be while the others were busy.

Maybe tonight. If he watched and timed it right, he could get her alone.

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Emory's face broke out into a huge smile for Daryl the instant he emerged from the forest. She could tell by his walk he was even more frustrated at still not finding Sophia. But the fact he continued looking gave them all hope. It gave Carol hope.

Seeing Emory's bright smile monentarily lifted his spirits and he vaguely remembered how great he felt when he headed out earlier that morning. He recalled how he'd wanted nothing more than to walk across camp and pull Emory into his arms, in front of God and everybody. But he didn't. Instead he threw his gear down in disgust and left to go wash up at the well.

Emory frowned down at her lap, confused by the drastic change in him from this morning. Had something happened? Before she got any deeper into her thoughts, she felt a soft hand on her shoulder.

"Go talk to him," Carol whispered in Emory's ear.

"You think?" Emory worried she might be pushing him.

"I do," Carol answered her with that knowing look on her face.

"I think he needs you right now. He just doesn't know how to ask," Carol observed.

Emory thought on it for a bit. She didn't want to push herself on him or anything...not if he didn't want her. But if Carol was right, then she wanted to be there with him. 'Oh hell, just go on. Stop acting like a baby', she silently yelled at herself. Screwing up her courage and with Carol's encouragement, she walked tentatively over to the well.

Daryl had taken off his leather jacket, but he still kept his dingy wifebeater on. He was using a bucket to pour cool water over his head and arms. He'd just finished another splash over his head when he saw her step up beside him.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Whatcha need?" Daryl stood up to glare at her, droplets of water streaming in rivulets down his neck and arms. He looked confused by her presence.

"I guess I NEED to know if you're ok," she stepped closer.

"I ain't hurt! Course I'm ok," Daryl grumbled.

"I can see that. But you seem different...than from this morning," Emory's face reddened at the reminder.

"What the hell woman! Did ya expect I was busting ass out there all day so I could bring ya back flowers an' shit?" Daryl snapped from out of nowhere, at least that's how it felt.

Somewhere below the haze of anger, he knew he was being an asshole...and saying things he didn't mean. But after spending another frustrating day out looking for Sophia, only to find nothing was getting to him. Well, nothing wasn't the right word. He'd also found a family. Or what had once been a family. He'd tried to steel himself against it, but finding the little girl, dead in her room had really got to him. And Emory didn't need to hear about that shit.

"No, I guess I didn't," Emory's heart sunk. She hadn't even thought about flowers, but she had hoped to see that intense glint in his eyes. The one that made her insides quiver.

But here she was standing there like an idiot. She'd let herself build up all these ridiculous hopes in her head, and now she was forced to admit just how stupid and foolish she'd been. He was right. There was never going to be a "them". All any of them could hope for anymore was, at best, a fleeting moment of happiness that you might manage to grab whenever you can. But that moment had obviously already passed for her and Daryl. With shoulders held high and heart heavy, she turned and walked away and left him alone by the well.

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Daryl watched her leave, not missing the hurt in her eyes. As soon as she was out of view he kicked the well, welcoming the physical pain radiating from his foot and up his leg.

Why did he just do that? Hurt her, when all he'd really wanted to do was to pull her into his arms and lose himself in her. Kiss her the way he'd done this morning, and forget. But for some reason finding that family, made him feel so dirty and useless. He'd felt so hopeless and utterly helpless.

And Dixons didn't do helpless. At least not gracefully.

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Emory managed to suffer through dinner after taking a long walk to let off some steam. The group sat around the campfire eating the delicious meal Carol put together from the chicken Maggie donated and the rabbit Daryl killed. There was still palpable tension over the walkers in the barn, with Rick continuing to assure them all that he was still trying to work things out with Hershel.

Emory robotically chewed and swallowed but could barely taste her food. She knew it was delicious, she just couldn't seem to enjoy it. The hardest part was trying not to look at Daryl the entire time, but that effort was emotionally exhausting. After helping Lori with cleanup, she decided a warm shower might help and would make her feel clean if nothing else.

She grabbed her clean clothes from her tent and went up to the Greene's house, making sure to use the back entrance. Hershel had made it clear they weren't welcome inside the house anymore, but his daughters felt different. She quietly tapped the glass and was instantly greeted warmly by Maggie who escorted her inside.

The shower was warm and it did feel really good to wash away all the day's sweat and grime. But she was still having trouble setting aside her feelings for Daryl. Its like when someone says not to think of Pandas, then all you can think about are Pandas.

She did her best to shove her feelings down and she quickly dressed and gathered up her things, giving Maggie and Beth a goodbye hug of thanks. She silently exited the grand house, again using the back entrance.

Emory stood on the porch for a second to resituate her dirty clothes into a tidy bundle to give her better access to her knife as well as the flashlight she carried. Fortunately her tent wasn't all that far, but with the moon barely a sliver tonight, it was nearly pitch black.

She flicked on the flashlight and headed back towards camp. To distract herself from the faint moans from the barn she began humming one of her favorite songs, 'Cause its a Bittersweet symphony I can't lie, Don't change, I can't change, I am here in my mode I am here in my...'

Suddenly a large hand clamped down over her mouth while another hand pulled her waist against a large, muscular body. The hands then moved up to immobilize her arms. She felt whoever it was holding her grab her knife. And just like that, she been made helpless.

"Nooohhh!" Was all she managed to get out before the hand effectively silenced her and she struggled to breathe through her nose, which was becoming more difficult since she was now hyperventilating. Relax! Go limp! Do not let a perp take you from the scene! Give us evidence! All her training kicked in.

It was the most awful, terrifying, helpless feeling. But she still tried kicking and screaming...scratching and biting, desperate to get away.

She was yanked and dragged until she felt her body get slammed up against the wall of Hershel's old pump shed. She could tell they were far away from camp and the main house. Far away enough that nobody could possibly hear her.

"Shane?" Emory finally managed to focus on the face of her attacker. "You Fucking Asshole! What the hell are you doing. You scared the shit out of me." Her fists began railing against his rock hard chest. But he appeared unfazed by her attempts to hurt him.

"Lady, ya see... you and me...we're gonna have a little chit chat! Set down some ground rules!" Shane's voice was cold and dead. Probably had helped make him one asshole of a cop. How Rick could consider this man his best friend, Emory could no longer fathom.

"And you couldn't have just asked me? Maybe stopped by my tent for a chat?" Emory felt herself getting her gumption back. "And I'd like my knife back, if you don't mind."

"I do mind. Now listen up, Cuz I'm warning ya only this once. You stay away from Lori. You don't talk to her and you don't even think about gettin' her anymore of them abortion pills!" Shane's voice was scary calm.

"Have you lost your goddamn mind? I talk to Lori everyday. She's my friend. What the hell is this all about?" Emory demanded.

"Ya think I didn't hear you and Lori talkin' about the baby? She threw up them pills. That means she wants the baby. MY baby!" Shane's eyes glassed over as he spoke.

"But no! You and yer damn femi-nazi bullshit! I heard you tryin' 'ta talk her outta it...scarin' her with your lies. Tryin' ta tell her how to kill our kid," Shane cried out. "Help her kill MY baby!"

"Shane! This is Lori's decision. Lori and Rick's, as its there baby. But that aside, you must know pregnancy is one of the most dangerous things a woman ever does...and that was before ...with doctors and hospitals. Carl was delivered by C-section. Did you think about that? Can you do a C-section because I damn sure can't? And thanks to you, Hershel wants us off his property. So are you going to lie to Lori and promise her that she'll be just fine. That there will be a surgeon for her when the time comes?" Emory's temper was escalating.

"You just shut the hell up! See, unlike Rick...I'll do whatever it takes to keep Lori and Carl and my baby safe! Ya hear me? WHATEVER IT TAKES!" Shane added the last part in a quiet but firm voice that was way more terrifying than if he'd yelled. He then gripped her upper arms and squeezed hard.

"Consider this your first and only warning." Shane bent over to whisper in her ear. "And that goes for our little talk, also. Ya best not discuss this with yer redneck. I'd hate for him ta have another accident. They seem to be happening a lot lately," Shane warned, and Emory had no doubt he meant every word. Shane would kill her and Daryl and not lose a minute's sleep about it.

"Like Otis had an accident?" Emory couldn't help herself, bracing herself for the blow she would surely get. But it didn't come. Instead Shane let go of her.

"Exactly! Just like Otis. So? Are we clear?" Shane cocked his head, obviously at home in this behavior.

"Crystal," Emory snapped. And just as she thought Shane was about to leave, he pulled back and sucker punched her as hard he could. She tried to hiss in a breath but it hurt too bad, and her knees gave way. She collapsed to her knees, gasping in pain.

"I don't bluff Emory. That was just a reminder," Shane stepped back, and then handed her back her knife and flashlight. With his cocky saunter, Shane left her there behind the shed.


	6. Chapter 6 -If You Leave I Leave

"Shit...Shit!" Emory groaned, knees in the dirt and leaning on her hands which were all that managed to support her. She was still having difficulty wrapping her head around what Shane had just done.

Emory could taste the salt from her tears along with the coppery taste of blood from where she'd bit into her lip as she tried to process everything that had just happened to her. But her brain simply wouldn't comply. All she could focus on was right now... this moment. First, stand up! OK, now walk...one foot in front of the other. Breathe!

She finally managed to move after having to kneel back down and puke up what little she'd eaten at dinner and slowly and gingerly she managed to make her way back to where her things had dropped to the ground. She held her breath as she bent and gathered them in her arms then slowly hunched her way back to her tent and silently slipped inside.

All Emory could do was just curl up on her cot, knees bent to her chest, clutching her pillow even tighter as silent tears fell. She desperately wanted to think...to plan Shane's demise or at least a serious disfigurement...or a plan to get the hell away from him.

That led her to begin seriously thinking about how she could make it out there on her own. Hell, she'd threatened to do it before. But all she could think about in this moment was how violated and terrified she felt. Not to mention being in a shitload of pain. She needed Daryl. But he'd made it clear that he didn't need or want her.

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Daryl jerked awake in the wee early hours of the morning covered in a thin film of cold sweat. His heart was racing and he felt like shit. He peeked outside his tent window and there was only the hint of the morning sun yet.

Physically his wounds were nearly healed, but he had tossed and turned all night as Emory's smiling face taunted him in his dreams. But then her face changed and contorted in pain as she cried out his name...begging for him to help her. But in his dreams he just tossed his crossbow over his shoulder and walked away...leaving her there to keep getting beat...her voice begging him for help haunting him long after he woke up.

He grabbed a nearby dirty shirt to wipe his face. He had no idea how to fix things with Emory, but for the first time he admitted to himself that he wanted to. He needed to.

It hadn't even been a day, but he already missed her. It wasn't like he didn't see her or anything. It was just he missed being around her, and talking to her, ...and especially laughing with her. He missed her smell, and the way it lingered on his clothes. And he missed kissing her.

He knew that he was being a goddamn pussy. He could hear Merle's voice in his head calling him all sorts of shit, usually ending with the words 'queer' or 'faggot'. But Merle wasn't here anymore and Emory was.

He tabled his internal dialog and shoved his boots on and then threw his crossbow over his shoulder before unzipping his tent and heading out. Today! Today he'd find Sophia, he just knew it.

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Daryl walked over to the newly revived morning campfire where Carol was already up and cooking.

"Mornin' Daryl. Why don't you have a seat. Breakfast is almost ready. Patricia and Beth were kind enough to share some more fresh eggs and peaches," Carol poured him a cup of hot black coffee while she spoke.

"Why ain't Emory up helpin' ya?" Daryl muttered, acting like he was complaining when he was really just needing to know where she was. She was usually one of the first to get up in the morning...another one of the things he liked about her.

"She's not with you? I guess YOU should tell ME why," Carol's blue eyes skewered him.

"I ain't got no idea. Maybe ya should go check on her," Daryl lied. He was too afraid and embarassed to go himself and hoped Carol would check on her and make sure she wasn't sick er nuthin'.

"I will, just as soon as I finish breakfast...unless you wanna scramble up these eggs?" Carol suggested mischievously.

"Better not. Too valuable to let me ruin 'em," Daryl mumbled.

"Then maybe YOU could go check on her?" Carol turned her head to gauge his reaction.

"Cain't. I gotta go take care of sumthin'," Daryl stood up abruptly and headed off to the woods to take a piss...and clear his head.

Carol finished up the eggs and Lori finally joined her to peel and slice juicy, ripe peaches.

"Will you take care of the rest? I'm gonna go check on Emory," Carol passed the bowl of fluffy, golden eggs to Lori who nodded and began serving everyone as they woke up and meandered over.

Carol headed over to Emory's tent, pausing at the zipped up entrance. That was strange. Emory usually only had the screen zipped up, not the outer flaps.

"Emory? It's Carol. Are you ok?" Carol called out, her brow scrunching up in concern.

Emory lifted her head and tried to roll over. She gasped as her left side radiated in pain, immediately stilling her as she struggled not to puke.

"Just tired. Is it ok if I take a break from chores this morning?" Emory lied to Carol through her tent.

"Of course. But are you sure you're ok? Can I come in and maybe talk?" Carol stared at the tent, even more worried than before.

"Please Carol. I really just need some rest," Emory prayed Carol would take the hint and leave her alone.

"Well how about I bring you some breakfast to your tent. We actually have eggs and peaches," Carol offered.

"Thanks Carol, but I'm really not very hungry," Emory didn't have to lie about that. She had zero appetite.

"Ok sweetie, if you're sure. I'll check on you again at lunch. Let me know if you need anything," Carol walked away reluctantly, her gut in knots. Something was not right. And she didn't think it had anything to do with Daryl either b. ... and that worried her even more.

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"Where's Emory?" Glenn finally noticed they were one short and asked while the group sat around the fire pit eating breakfast. Things were too dangerous not to notice when someone was missing, these days. Daryl's head snapped up and he immediately looked to Carol hoping she had an answer. It was one thing to not get up and help cook. But to skip breakfast?

"She's ok. Just said she wasn't feeling well," Carol didn't expound further.

"She sick?" Daryl asked, also worried but trying not to let it show.

"Probably just tired. I'll check on her again in a bit," Carol promised.

"Whatsa matter with all you people? Cain't ya'll just leave the damn woman alone. She's been busting ass since we got here and probably just needs to rest." Shane interrupted and started yelling from out of nowhere. Even Lori looked at Shane with a questioning glare.

Daryl's eyes squinted as he tried to figure out why in the hell Shane would speak up on anyone's behalf...other than Lori's. In fact, lately Shane had been an even bigger dickhead than usual, to Emory most of all.

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Emory stayed in her cot long after the sunlight began streaking into her tent and warming it up inside. She was beyond exhausted but sleep still eluded her. Her brain instead chose to race all night long rather than shut down for much needed rest.

Irritated, she finally threw her blanket aside and swung her legs to the floor, holding her side as she did. She figured if she couldn't sleep, she might as well get up. Plus, if she didn't get up soon and start acting normal she'd be forced to deal with far more difficult questions.

She dug through her things and found some spandex leggings which she wrapped around her stomach twice, then pulled it tight and pinned in into place. She told herself not to look but she couldn't miss the giant black and purple bruising and swelling just to the left of her belly button. It had grown to nearly the size of a salad plate overnight.

She gritted her teeth through the pain as she threw on a black tshirt and denim jeans, then finally pulled her brown leather boots on. It had taken longer than usual what with stabbing pain radiating through her after every reach and move, but she eventually managed.

"Yo Princess! Ya gonna just laze about in yer tent all damn day," she heard a voice call from outside her tent. Daryl...jeezus not Daryl. Not Now! What if Shane was watching?

"I will if I want to," Emory snapped back hoping he'd just leave.

"Let me in, Em. We need ta talk," Daryl called to her, except now his voice was that low husky tone that usually made her tingle. Now it just made her afraid...for him.

"No, we really don't" was all she said.

"I'm coming in anyway," Daryl ignored her and began unzipping her tent.

"Whatever. Make yourself at home. Feel free to tidy up if you want. I was just leaving anyway," Emory waited until he had her tent entrance completely unzipped, then she slyly pushed her way past him...and hurried to get away.

"What the hell's yer problem?" Daryl dropped the tent opening and ran to catch up with her, pulling her by her arm to turn her around. She flinched in pain, but tried like hell to hide it from him. Instead she focused on her anger ...and her hurt.

"I don't have a problem. But you sure as shit seem to. Obviously your memory has been damaged, seeing as how you don't seem to remember yesterday. So let me refresh your memory. You made it quite clear that I shouldn't expect anything from you. So why don't you head on back to your tent and leave ME the hell alone?" Emory stormed off hoping that had done the trick.

She refused to turn around and look back until she'd made it inside the horse barn where she collapsed and broke down crying in one of the stalls.

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"Emory?" Carol finally found her as Emory when she was walking out of the horse's barn.

"How are you feel...?" Carol stopped as soon as she saw Emory's face. Eyes swollen and red-rimmed.

"Oh my God! Emory honey? What's wrong?" Carol rushed over and hugged her tight.

Emory nearly passed out from the pain, gasping and falling forward.

"Emory! What did I do?" Carol immediately reached for her..

"It's nothing. I just fell and hurt my side," Emory couldn't meet Carol's eyes.

"Emory, I do understand, ya know. Better than most. Falls such as yours used to happen to me a lot," Carol raised an eyebrow, knowing full well that Emory got her meaning.

"I just need to rest," Emory decided to head back to her tent.

"Not until we get you checked out by Hershel!" Carol insisted, obviously worried about her.

"NO!" Emory screamed in panic before she could control herself. With a calming breath she continued. "It's not a good idea, Carol," Emory's eyes watered as she felt the walls closing in on her. Plans for sneaking off on her own beginning to take shape.

"Then let me take a look," Carol insisted as a compromise.

"No, I'm fine Carol, I promise. But I'll come to you if I need help," Emory held her ground, despite how much she wanted to give in and allow Carol to tend to her. To talk to Carol...to talk with anyone about what to do, was a luxury she could not afford right now.

"Okay," Carol reluctantly agreed as she remembered all those times she herself had insisted on the same thing... from doctors, social services, and her own family. Suddenly the loud cacophony of screaming voices interrupted their conversation.

"What the hell is that?" Emory's head jerked up and she immediately ran towards the fracas. Shane and all the others were gathered by the barn screaming and yelling. Emory raced toward them with a frightened Carol right behind her.

"What the hell is he doing?" Carol screamed as they reached the barn where the group had now gathered. Shane was ranting and raving while shooting at a walker that Hershel held onto by this long pole.

They finally reached Lori who stood there stiffly far behind the others with Carl wrapped protectively in her arms. Shane was out of his mind, screaming and yelling. And then he ran to the barn and slammed open the lock open with a pickaxe.

She and Carol could do little more than hold onto each other as they watched in horror while walkers ambled out of the barn one by one, easily picked off by Shane. He was instantly joined by Andrea, T-Dog, and Daryl. Maggie finally gave Glenn her approval and he joined in as well.

With little more difficulty than a turkey shoot, they shot each one as it stumbled out of the barn, until finally they just stopped coming. The ground was now littered with more than twenty corpses...most of them Hershel's family and friends.

Emory just stood beside Carol, taking in all the carnage. The smell of sulfur from the gunfire and decomposition clouded the air but Beth and Maggie's sobs were all she heard.

Then there was a gasp followed by a hush as another walker slowly pushed open the wooden door.

Emory noticed the ankles first. Sophia's teeny tiny ankles, now filthy and with the gray pallor of the long dead.

"Sophia!" Carol sobbed as she broke away from Emory and ran towards her daughter who was snarling and grabbing for them...all remnants gone of the little girl she'd once been. Fortunately Daryl caught Carol by the waist and held her down.

Nobody else moved, particularly not Shane, as they all helplessly watched Sophia walk toward them, a bloody chunk ripped from of her little neck. It was complete disbelief. All that searching and she'd been in the barn the whole time.

Emory held her hand over her mouth to stop herself from crying out when she saw Rick pull his revolver out and slowly walk towards Sophia. She vaguely heard Lori whisper to Carl not not to watch and Emory knew she couldn't watch either. She turned her head and waited for the boom.

When she finally looked up Rick was standing solemnly over Sophia's dead body and Maggie was holding her sobbing, distraught sister.

Daryl helped Carol to her feet but she just shoved him away, running away from the site of all this carnage.

Emory didn't know what to do, feeling paralyzed and somewhat in shock. But as soon as Shane saw her his eyes narrowed with a look, as if to say, "see what I'm capable of. Killing you and yours would be nothing to me."

Emory turned on her heel and ran to go find Carol.

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When the time to bury Sophia finally came, Carol refused to attend the service they held for Sophia, and Annette and Sean. Emory couldn't really blame Carol. But Daryl obviously had. In fact, without a word to anyone he'd packed up and moved his tent and his belongings nearly a quarter-mile out by some old ruins.

Shane smiled nearly each and every time he saw the redneck off in the distance. Daryl was a threat to him, no doubt about it. He'd also noticed the way Rick had recently started treating Daryl differently, recognizing that look of respect in his friend's eyes.

But Shane never saw that look in Rick's eyes for him anymore. All he saw was disgust and disdain...where he should have seen gratitude and respect.

What if Daryl decided to head off on his own? That was a whole new ballgame. And from the looks of things, he was already halfway there. He'd worried there might be something between the redneck and Emory. But she'd apparently come to her senses given the cold shoulder Daryl'd been getting from her lately. If Shane's luck held out, Daryl'd be gone within days now that they didn't need him hunting for Sophia. And if Emory had an "accident", perhaps Daryl would see no reason to stay?

But for now Shane was in charge given that Rick had once again elected to go running off after other people...rather than to stay and protect his family. Instead he'd taken Glenn to go find Hershel, implying it was the least he could do after what Shane had done. With any luck, none of them would return.

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Carol had done her grieving her own way...in private. In fact her hands were still cut up from ripping that Cherokee rose bush to shreds. To her surprise, Shane had been the one that had been there for her. He'd gently washed her hands while he apologized. He'd been so sincere...and she had to admit, if not for what Shane had done she might never have known what had happened to her baby. And how many lives had they put at risk every day searching the woods?

Carol had been so focused on her own mourning and grieving that she hadn't had take the time to take into account how Daryl was coping with Sophia's death. But by the time she entered camp, she saw he'd already moved far off to the hinterlands (her Daddy's term for far away). When Daryl still didn't show up for dinner, she decided to head out across the field to talk to Daryl...hopefully find out what the hell was going on with him.

"What the hell ya doin' out here? What do I have ta do to get away from all ya'll?" Daryl snarled as he continued sharpening his homemade bolts by the light of his small fire.

"I came to check on you," Carol said as she took notice of all the squirrel and rabbit carcasses he had strung up...almost as if to scare people away.

"Well ain't you a peach. Maybe if ya spent half as much time watching yer daughter as ya do other people, Sophia'd still be alive!" Daryl accused, his voice crackling with emotion.

"Go ahead," Carol just stared at him calmly, refusing the inflammatory bait. She had taken verbal and physical abuse far worse than this. If she believed for one second he meant what he was saying she'd be sobbing her heart out. But she'd come to know Daryl. Likely better than even Emory.

"What the hell? Ya gonna make this about my daddy er sumthin'? Yer a real piece a work lady."

"Yer afraid! That's it ain't it. Yer afraid cuz yer all alone now! Ain't got no husband! No daughter!" Daryl hated himself for the things he was saying, particularly the last bit. But his rage and sadness seemed to override any remnants of good judgment he might have had left.

"All ya had ta do was keep an eye on her! Sophia wasn't mine!" Daryl cried out as he got in her face and screamed, his voice trembling with emotion. But when she flinched away at his approach... as if she'd been afraid he'd hit her, it was like being doused with a bucket of ice water.

"Carol...I'm...I wou...I mean, you know I would never..." Daryl tried to apologize but Carol interrupted him.

"Yeah? Just like you didn't beat on Emory?" Carol snapped back at him, and with a swift turn she ran back to camp. Maybe she'd been wrong about him? She'd been so wrong about Ed, maybe she just was one of those women who lacked that abuse detector or something. The way some women lacked Gaydar.

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What the hell? Daryl could never hit Emory. But for some reason Carol seemed convinced he had. Was she just reading things into something she knew nothing about? Daryl squinted into the dark off towards Emory's tent. It was pitch black.

Daryl grabbed his gear and slowly walked back towards the farmhouse, needing the time to clear his head. Just as he hopped over the fence, he saw Shane getting into the Hyundai, with the others waving him on. What the hell was happening to this group?

He didn't have time to deal with their crap, so he turned and silently made his way over to Emory's tent.

Rather than asking permission this time, he just began unzipping the opening.

"I swear to God! I WILL shoot if you don't stop right now, you fucking Sick Bastard!" Emory's hands were steady, despite the flood of adrenaline rushing through her veins, and she aimed her Sig at the dark shadowed outline. After her fight with Shane yesterday she'd decided it was in her best interest to ignore Hershel's gun ban. She'd slipped into the RV and taken her guns and ammo back from Dale's bag yesterday.

"What the fuck, Emory? It's just me...," Daryl stilled himself while he waited. He heard a muffled gasp from inside, but held himself still until she checked her gun.

"Em? I'm coming in, so don't shoot me ok?" Daryl whispered quietly, so nobody other than Emory could have heard him.

Emory's hands started shaking as she set her Sig down, her heart racing uncontrollably. She sat stiffly on her cot while he zipped her tent back up behind him.

"What the fuck were ya doing?" Panic and dread suddenly invaded every cell of Daryl's body as he saw her sitting alone on her cot. Her belongings were all packed up into her backpack and her blankets were wrapped tightly around her sleeping bag.

"Why the hell's yer shit all packed?" Daryl struggled to swallow but his throat had suddenly become dry as a desert.

"I've gotta go. Tonight! Now!" She struggled to lift her bag and finally got the thick strap over her shoulder. "I promised I'd tell you, so there it is!"

"Gimme that! Ya ain't leavin!" Daryl reached for her, gripping her waist and pulling her close then sliding the pack off. Emory bit her lip to hide the pain that stabbed through her side where his hand pulled her waist. She held her breath until the worst of the pain finally passed.

"I've got to go Daryl," her eyes watered. She was going to miss so many of these people, and Daryl most of all. But with Rick, Hershel and Glenn gone and Daryl having one foot out the door already, she was a sitting duck for whenever Shane decided she needed to go. There was nobody to stop him anymore. Unless she snuck up on him and executed him, but was that who she wanted to become? She'd found these people...what's to say there weren't other good folks out there who would take her in. Folks that didn't tolerate psychopaths in their midst.

"Ya were just gonna sneak out...not say goodbye?" Daryl still couldn't believe this was happening.

"To be fair I am telling you." Emory reached for her pack again, but Daryl only held it further away from her.

"We had a deal, and I honor my deals, so consider yourself notified," Emory sighed.

"Why?" Daryl's voice suddenly changed and it was almost like he was that little boy again, after his ma died.

"Does it really matter?" Emory swallowed, trying her damnedest not to cry. She was biting into her cheek so hard she tasted blood, but still the tears began to form. Thank God it was dark so he couldn't see.

But he could. The silverlight from the moon and stars streamed in and he could make out every feature of her face. Daryl cocked his head as he started looking around, then looked at her. He'd felt something 'off' when he'd held her...something different.

She hadn't expected it or she would have done something to stop him. But before she knew what happened, he yanked her shirt up to reveal the shiny spandex material crudely wrapped around her abdomen.

"Daryl STOP IT!" She panicked and began shoving at his chest. Somehow he still managed to be gentle as he popped the large safety pin and let the stretchy fabric fall to the ground. He pulled his pocket light out and shone it at her stomach. This time it was his turn to gasp.

His first instinct was to start yelling and punching the first thing that he came into contact with. But he couldn't do that. Not yet anyway.

"Shane did this! It's why ya think ya gotta run!" Daryl's eyes squinted as he examined the bruised area and his pupils narrowed into tiny black pinpoints.

"What does it matter?" Emory jerked away and spun around so as not to look at him. He would know she was lying if she looked at him.

"Cuz I'm gonna kill him!" Daryl instantly managed to put it all together. Shane's weird behavior earlier and Emory hiding in her tent.

"Is he still here?" Emory felt her heartrate begin to race again, nearly pounding out of her chest. She had to bend over to try stop the nausea.

"He drove off a minute ago to go find Lori. Saw him drive off when I came over here," Daryl took a cautious step forward and then placed his hand on the small of her back.

"He ain't gonna hurt ya Em," Daryl promised her.

"He already has, Daryl!" Emory spun around, her gray eyes glinting silver as she reminded him.

"And this," she lifted her shirt to let him see her abdomen in all its bruised glory, "This was just a warning." Emory walked around Daryl in the small tent, as she felt some semblance of strength return.

"You've been kinda busy hiding away out there, but have you taken a look around to see how things have been the last two days? Rick, Glenn and Hershel are gone and nobody knows if or when they'll return. You've obviously already got one foot out the door, moving yourself all the way out there. I half expected to see your tent and bike gone when I woke up this morning. So Shane is pretty much in charge now. The man who threatened to kill me last night is in charge. So that's why I am leaving" Emory felt the tears she'd tried so hard to control, erupt and stream down her cheeks. Frustrated by them, she wiped them angrily away with her sleeve.

"Grab yer shit! We're leavin' right now while he's gone!" Daryl picked up her pack and threw it over his shoulder before looking around her tent for whatever else she might need to bring. They had his tent, so could leave her's behind. Besides, if she tried to pack it up tonight that would garner too much attention.

"Daryl! Just stop it. I'm leaving right now. But I'm going alone. I never expected flowers or anything else... and I damn sure don't expect you to feel like you have to leave with me," Emory threw his words back at him, making him flinch.

"Sorry...I shouldn't have said that," Emory apologized, but she hadn't changed her mind. There was no reason to take Daryl away from the group. They might starve without him.

"No...that was exactly fair." Daryl conceded but still wouldn't let her go, his hands now gently stroking her upper arms. "I was a dick yesterday. I shoulda just told ya what happened out there," Daryl admitted, but this sharing shit was still too new to him.

"Shit Daryl, did something happen? Are you ok?" Emory immediately forgot her own fears as her eyes filled with concern for him. "Were you hurt?" she continued when he still didn't speak.

"I'm fine. I just saw some ugly shit out lookin' fer Sophia. It was a family...all turned walker...'cept fer the baby," Daryl tried to explain why he'd been such an ass.

"You could have told me, you know," Emory looked up at him, and knew she was screwed. He'd sucked her back in with just a story about a bad day searching in the woods.

"I shoulda," Daryl conceded. "I ain't any good at...this'' and shit, and I'll prob'ly screw up again...and again," he admitted. "But if you go, I go. That's all I'm sayin'!"

"You know I don't want to leave. But I'm more afraid of Shane right now, than the walkers. I can't keep my eyes open at all times. I mean, look at what happened to Otis?" Emory pointed out and Daryl nodded, already having figured it out for himself after Shane brought Rick's gun back.

"Ok, here's what we're gonna do. Yer gonna' stay with me! If Rick and Hershel come back by the morning, we'll talk to 'em...tell 'em what Shane did. If they don't deal with it or they don't come back, then we leave on our own...with whomever else wants to join us. I'm bettin' on Carol and Dale. Probably T-Dog too," Daryl put his arms gently on her shoulders, realizing just how close he'd come to losing her.

Emory raised her chin to look at Daryl.

"You're not afraid that Shane might try something tonight?" she asked. Because she was afraid and if anything happened to him because of her, she'd never forgive herself.

"I'm fuckin'prayin' he does try somethin' tonight. So I can end this!" Daryl's eyes glittered with a savagry she'd rarely seen. But rather than scare her, tonight it comforted her.

"This isn't your fight Daryl. It's mine," she couldn't let him kill someone for her. She had been trained to kill and had actually done it with her own bare hands. But it was nothing she relished. Plus she'd never thought much of the damsel in distress routine either. Save yourself.

"That makes it my fight," he pulled her back to him to hold her in his arms, regretting every awful thing he'd said to her. "Now grab whatcha need so we can get outta here."

Emory shook her head as she walked with him back to his tent off in the distance. What a difference a day made.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

"I'm worried," Emory admitted as she laid her blankets neatly on the floor. She refused to take his cot, and he refused to sleep on his cot if she slept on the floor, so they were both lying on the floor while their gear got the cot.

"Ain't gotta be worried," he assured her. He wanted to be 'that guy' for her. He wanted to be like Rick, the one who always seemed to make things alright.

"I know. I feel safe...with you," she admitted and leaned over to press a soft kiss to his cheek. Daryl felt his cheeks warm under her compliments.

"Its the group I'm worried about. Even if Rick does come back, there's still going to be trouble. Shane is his best friend and he did keep his wife and child safe through everything. Do you really think he'll be able to kick Shane out? And will Shane leave now that he knows Lori's pregnant? That leaves only some very grim options."

"Lori's fuckin' pregnant? That Dumb Bitch!" Daryl turned over as the impact of the news hit him.

"Come on, give her a break. I guarantee you she did not do it on purpose." Emory rolled to her side and slowly stroked his forearm.

"In fact its why Shane wants to kill me. I told her I'd help her get what she needed to abort the baby if she wanted me to. Shane must have overheard us. He's convinced he's the father, and that I'm a genocidal monster. I don't know, maybe its just a biological urge to ensure his genetics survive," Emory muttered in the dark.

"Or maybe he's just a homicidal douchebag?" Daryl swallowed at how fucked up things were assuredly going to get. Running away with Emory was looking more and more like the best solution.

"If you were Rick? What would you do?" Emory rolled over onto her side to look at his interesting face.

"Dunno! Prob'ly kick Shane and Lori both to the curb," Daryl stared up at the dark gray ceiling of his tent. He couldn't help but picture Emory pregnant.

"And Carl? Its not like they can share him...do alternate weekends," Emory pointed out.

"This is gonna suck bad for Rick," Daryl muttered then rolled over to face her. Tentatively, he let his hand move to rest lightly on her hip.

He instantly recalled his dream from this morning. Except it hadn't been a dream at all. She really had been getting the hell beat outta her, and while he might not have walked away like in his dream, he had left her alone just the same. He'd packed up his tent and left her there unprotected.

"Em? Did he hurt ya anywhere else?" it suddenly dawned on Daryl that perhaps a punch in the gut had been just the beginning. What if he'd raped her? Daryl's body began to tremble with rage at just the thought. Emory felt his body stiffen and knew what he was asking.

"He punched me and that's it. So stop," Emory stroked his shoulder over the plaid fabric of his shirt which he wore to bed. She knew he was blaming himself for this.

"Daryl? What happened was not your fault. You know that, right?" Emory placed a tender kiss at the corner of his mouth, before pulling away.

Daryl simply nodded into her hair. He was responsible...at least partly but now was not the time to get into that. Tonight he just held her.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTW

"Daryl? We need you to go out and bring Rick, Glenn and Hershel back?" Carol hiked all the way out to his tent, the worry in her voice palpable.

"Carol?" Daryl eyes slammed open, immediately disoriented. Until he saw Emory snuggled up beside him, her arm slung possessively over his chest.

"Daryl? They're still not back yet...and I can't find Emory. I think Shane might have done something awful. The group needs you!" Carol didn't have the temerity to enter his tent, but was not above using her fear to get him up and about.

"I'm ok Carol," Emory called out to Carol through the tent.

"Oh thank God. I've been so terrified. Why the hell didn't you tell me you were out here?" Carol yelled at the vinyl tent.

Daryl exited the tent first and pulled Carol aside to give her the sixty second rehash of what Shane had done. He left out the part about he and Emory discussing leaving the group.

Emory exited the tent a few minutes later to join them, but was nearly thrown over by a jubilant Carol.

"Are you ok? I should have known...I mean I wondered...but I wasn't sure...and then how could I..." Carol babbled until Emory just pulled her into a hug to stop her.

"Carol. I'm ok. Bruised but ok. But Shane is very dangerous right now," Emory told Carol.

"Well if you two leave, I want to go with you...that is if you'll have me," Carol suddenly felt like the proverbial third wheel.

"Of course...and anyone else who wants to take their chances." Emory stroked the frail woman's back. "Rick, Glenn and Hershel are good men. But without them to contain Shane, he will continue to spiral out of control. He threatened to kill me if I so much as spoke to Lori."

"He's lost it. Has been since we got here at the farm. He's been different since the night Carl was shot." Carol agreed with Daryl and Emory.

"Oh Thank God...I think they're back!" Carol pointed to the familiar late-model Suburban driving fast down the dirt roads and kicking up dust.


	7. Chapter 7-You're A Good Man

"Stay here Emory! Until I find out what the hell's goin' on. You too Carol," Daryl grabbed his things and ran across the field to be there when Rick pulled the truck in.

Carol wrapped a comforting arm around Emory's strong shoulders, and they both watched Daryl hurry across the pasture.

"He's a good man, you know?" Carol glanced up at Emory. But one look at Emory's face and Carol knew she was preaching to the choir. Emory had already figured out just how good Daryl was.

-/-/-/-/-

"Ya think yer so fuckin' clever, dontcha?" Shane stormed over to Daryl. After his latest shouting match with Rick, Shane was once again in a frenzy, this time over the arrival of Randall. Rick had brought back one of the injured guys from the group that tried to kill them. When Rick stood his ground, Shane slammed the door shut only to see Daryl heading towards Rick.

"The fuck ya want Shane? Don't ya have enough to do...what with keepin' yer baby mama from runnin' off on ya?" Daryl snapped back, too furious to hold his tongue.

"Just keep yer murdering whore away from Lori!" Shane warned, standing menacingly in front of him.

"Don't 'xpect none of us will have to do jack shit ya say after Hershel and Rick see what ya did ta Emory," Daryl taunted.

"Why ya fuckin' piece a trailer trash!" The veins in Shane's face began throbbing as he positioned himself to take a swing.

"Shane!" Rick was running over, followed by Emory, Lori, Carol and Hershel.

"Ya got sumthin' ya wanna tell me?" Rick's eyes narrowed and his voice grew cold...the vein in his temple pulsing.

"Ya ain't gonna listen to anything that whore says, are ya Rick? For chrissakes, she's fuckin' Daryl Dixon of all people!" Shane turned to spat at Daryl's feet. "How many times are you going to endanger Lori and Carl and the baby over a fuckin' Dixon?"

"Then please, tell me your side of the story?" Rick faltered for barely a second as he struggled to remember the Shane from his childhood...his friend and partner. The man who would never hurt a woman.

"Don't you fuckin' look at me like that, Rick!" Shane's eyes glowed with crazy as he turned to face Rick.

"Not you! Its so easy for you to always take the high road ain't it Rick? Never get yer own hands dirty though, do ya? Instead of taking care of yours, ya run off takin' care of everyone else...everyone but Lori and Carl," Shane marched into Rick's chest while Lori cried and raised her palm to her mouth. "And ya sanctify it by telling yerself its for the best. But have you ever asked Lori or Carl? Because I can recall numerous times...even before all this...where ya left 'em to go after they begged ya ta just stay!"

"Don't you dare talk about MY family," Rick thought it would be hard to stand up to Shane. But to question his love for his family? That made his blood boil.

"Are you shittin' me? You've never been there when they needed you! Carl's bike on Christmas morning? I was the one to show up at 1am to put it together, while you went to follow a lead. And it was yer brilliant idea to go after Merle. How many people did that cost us? Amy! Jim! And for what? A bunch of guns, that grandpa here won't even let us carry!" Shane was marching around and around Rick now.

"And lets not forget searchin' those woods for a little girl we all knew was dead. And Carl got shot! Yer own boy got shot. And then when Lori finds out she's pregnant and she has no faith you can take care for her and tries to abort. Fuck why would she think you'll be there? When she goes into labor where are ya gonna be? Off saving more cats in trees?" Shane's face was beet red and Lori collapsed in tears.

But Rick just saw red and charged at Shane, and soon both men were rolling around and around, punching and hitting...the sickening sound of flesh pounding bone. Until they finally separated and Shane pulled his pistol, aiming it square at Rick.

Daryl immediately flipped his crossbow and had a bolt ready and Emory also pulled her gun and pointed it at Shane's brain.

"Tell 'em ta drop their weapons." Shane snarled at Rick.

"Shane! Please! I know this isn't what you want," Lori cried out to him, the only person able to break his concrete facade.

"Lori. I love you...and I'll take care of you. You don't need an abortion because I'll take care of you. I won't be running off. All I care about is you and Carl and our baby. You know 'Rick' can't say the same?" Shane's voice dripped with disgust at just the sound of Rick's name.

Lori's eyes connected with Shane and Emory could see her fear and how easy it would be to believe in Shane's perverted reality.

Shane's eyes hardened and he knew what he had to do. He had to kill Rick. It was the only way he could keep Lori and the baby safe.

The boom of gunfire was deafening and Shane suddenly lurched forward, blood spurting from his chest. Rick caught him, tossing his gun aside as they both slid to the ground.

Over Shane's shoulder Rick saw his son holding the very handgun Shane had taught him to use barely a week ago. Smoke was emanating from the barrel that was now shaking in Carl's hands.

"Carl!" Lori ran to her son, collapsing in tears as she tossed the handgun to the ground, stunned that her son had just shot Shane.

Emory ran to stand beside Daryl while everyone watched transfixed as Rick held his former best friend in his arms and Shane took his last breath. Rick railed and screamed at Shane and at any God and every god that would listen. "Why brother? Why? It didn't have ta be this way?"

Emory slipped her hand in Daryl's, suddenly needing some sort of comfort. His fingers stiffened at such an unnatural thing for him but he too needed the comfort of the touch from another person.

Emory heard Carl cry out that he was afraid Shane was going to kill his Daddy. But that wasn't something a little boy should ever have to do.

Hershel managed to pull Rick away from Shane's dead body, draping his coat over the corpse just as the rest of the group ran over.

"What happened? My God! Shane!" Andrea ran over and dropped to her knees beside the dead man while Dale, T-Dog, Glenn and Maggie stood by not believing what had happened.

"Andrea, come on. Lets give the Grimes some space. We can fill you in," Carol stepped forward, but Andrea swatted her hands away, stomping off in a huff. Dale debated heading after her, but decided she too needed some time to cool off.

"We'll go make a spot beside Sophia," T-Dog offered, dragging Jimmy with him to the barn to get some shovels.

As Emory, Daryl and Carol prepared to walk away, they instantly stilled when they caught sight of movement from under Hershel's coat. Daryl instinctively raised his weapon and Emory raised her gun as they saw Shane come back as a walker. Everyone else caught sight of the commotion and came running back, all stunned.

Daryl nodded to Emory that this was his shot to take. He knew he should feel bad, but the memory of those bruises on Emory's body allowed him to let his bolt slide easily from his grip, ending Shane yet again.

"Oh my God! Shane musta got bit! Thats why he was acting so crazy," Lori cried out, holding Carl even closer ...strangely comforted by the news. But Daryl briefly caught an odd look in Rick's eyes...something that made him far more uneasy than simply Shane's death.

-/-/-

"Did ya come into contact with Shane's blood?" Daryl pulled her aside, needing to know. The second Shane reanimated Daryl felt the fear and panic build.

"No contact," Emory immediately understood why he was asking the question. "And other than being afraid of him these past two days, I feel fine."

"Ok. Ok. That's good." Daryl began pacing back and forth...and back and forth until Emory had to stop him.

Before she could get a word out, Daryl yanked her against him and slammed his lips to hers, allowing himself the momentary pleasure of letting go and losing himself in her. Then, just as abruptly, he pulled away.

"I gotta go," his ears tinged deep red and his words were mumbled. Without bothering to wait for a reply from Emory he turned on his heel and hurried away leaving her once again speechless.

-/-/-/-/-/-

Emory didn't see Daryl for a couple of hours and she'd started to worry. They were planning to have a service for Shane in a little bit. Everyone was seemingly ok with chalking Shane's behavior up to the sickness. It made things so much simpler. Except for Rick.

Emory could understand why it was so important that Lori believe that. It would obviously help Carl deal with what he'd done if he knew Shane was essentially dead already and that his bullet only minimized further damage.

She still wept for Carl's loss. If nothing else, Shane loved Carl and Lori more than anything...including himself. And she had no doubt Shane would have given his life for either of them. And maybe he had?

-/-_\\_

Emory stood around the campfire with the others not really listening to all the muffled discussions going on around her. That was until Carol tapped her arm and brought her attention to Daryl who was walking over to join them.

"Anything?" Rick asked, his face expressing only a fraction of the stress and worry he felt. He'd brought Randall back to the farm. This was all on him.

"That boys gotta group...maybe thirty men and they're heavily armed. Ain't lookin' ta make friends neither. If they roll in here, our men are dead and..." Daryl paused and swallowedly heavily, "and our women'll wish they were!" He turned his gaze to Emory, silently promising he would do whatever it took to protect her. Not like he'd done with Shane.

Carol sneered in disgust at Daryl's bloody knuckles and turned, but she really blamed Rick for thus. If he wanted to torture a child, then he should damn well do it himself. Carol felt ashamed but she could hear Shane whispering to her from the grave...'Rick never gets his own hands dirty!'

"That settles it! He's a threat. We handle it tonight," Rick's face became hard and cold, as if he was determined to prove Shane wrong...even now from the grave Shane was still manipulating Rick.

Emory watched Dale run off after Rick, obviously disturbed by the change in their de facto leader.

"Come on. Let's get your hands cleaned up before they get infected," Emory's eyes held none of the judgment that Carol's had. She worried that Carol was holding onto rules and mores that no longer applied

She grabbed the nearest of the many first aid kits they had stashed around camp. It was one of the things they learned early on was that they often needed to do a lot of first aid for themselves. She'd stitched up many a cut those first few months with only dental floss, vodka and Carol's sewing needles.

"This is gonna sting," she warned Daryl, but he just looked at her...his face saying "Duhhh!"

"Fine tough guy," she dumped a healthy splash of isopropyl alcohol over the bleeding and raw knuckles on his right hand, taking a small perverse pleasure when he gasped in pain then quickly sucked it in. She tried to hold back her smirk but he'd already caught her.

"Didn't know ya was a sadist?" Daryl accused but the playful crinkle at the corner of his eyes told her he was teasing.

"Well, you never told me you were a masochist, though I guess I should have figured it out seeing as how you always seem to be such a glutton for punishment," she retorted, rather pleased with herself. She slathered on some antibiotic ointment over his knuckles but took her time, slowly rubbing it in.

She noticed Daryl's pupils dilate and realized this simple act was affecting him. Out of curiosity or just plain oineriness, she slowed down her motions and took her time, sensually rubbing the slippery ointment over his strong hand. She made long slow strokes between the ridges of his knuckles as she cradled his hand in her soft ones.

Daryl tried to control himself but Emory could hear his breathing change and hitch as if he was struggling to keep it even. She couldn't lift her head and look at him, or she knew she'd lose it herself. Probably jump him right there, where they sat by the well and rip his clothes off.

Daryl couldn't take it any longer and roughly pulled her chin up with his free hand so he could look at her. "You're doin' that on purpose!" It was an accusation not a question. But he wasn't mad. He was hot and bothered.

"Doin' what?" Emory did her best innocent face while she wrapped gauze around his hand about five times before taping it securely.

"I don't suppose you'll listen if I ask you not to use this hand for a few days, but will you please leave this on so it doesn't get infected?" Emory begged sincerely.

"Ya gonna re-bandage it for me tomorrow?" Daryl smirked, feeling confident when he could tell she was as affected as he'd been. Well, maybe not AS affected, he qualified. Because now he had a hard on that nobody could miss.

"I will if you want me too?" Emory through the ball back in his court, but leaned forward and softly kissed his lips.

"Come on, its about time to go and pay our last respects to Shane," Emory stood and reached for him.

"Do we gotta?" Daryl could pout worse than Carl at times.

"Yes, we gotta," she mimicked him, then reached out her hand to pull him up. He complied...and held onto her hand as they walked over to the row of oak trees where they had started burying their own.

-/-/-/-

After the funeral Emory walked with Daryl the long way out to his tent. It was getting closer to dinner and Emory could tell Daryl was getting agitated with each passing minute.

Daryl threw himself onto a log and picked up a few handmade bolts he'd been working on. It was obvious he wasn't in a chatty mood and Emory began wondering if she'd come out here by mistake.

"Daryl, would you rather be alone?" Emory leaned against the tree directly across from him. Her voice wasn't pleading or nagging, just matter-of-fact.

Daryl looked up at her from his spot and she simply took his breath away. This seemed to happen at the oddest times for him lately. Sometimes he'd be watching while she ate with the group and would then break out into a huge smile at something someone had said. Or when she was hanging laundry and he'd hear her singing while the wind whipped up her hair.

Now, her face was alight with the late afternoon sun, giving her complexion a golden glowy look and her gray eyes seemed to soften to a warm gunmetal. But it was her lips that pulled him. Deep, rosy pink and full, with corners that turned up so slightly at the corners.

He stood up and closed the distance.

"I do want to be alone...away from them. But I want you to stay. Will ya? I know I ain't good company right now and ain't much fer talkin' neither." Daryl admitted but his hand held her wrist while his thumb stroked her pulse point.

With a slight smile, she nodded. "Why don't we just sit," she took the free spot beside where he had been sitting.

He sat beside her and returned to sharpening the already sharp bolts. Every so often he'd hand her the finished one and she'd hand him a new one. And so it went, the two of them in companionable silence.

"Daryl?" They both looked up to see Dale making his way across the field to join them. As he got closer, they both stood up to meet him.

"Oh hey Emory. I'm glad you're here. I wanted to talk to you also." Dale reached the clearing.

"This about Randall?" Daryl asked but already knew the answer.

"I know you don't want to go along with this. You're a decent man!" Dale insisted. "And so is Rick! I know this is Shane's handiwork. That crap he spewed this morning? I'm afraid its affecting Rick's judgment."

"And you Emory? I know this isn't you," Dale apparently had taken for granted she was on his side.

"Dale, you might have been right six months ago. But things have changed. People have changed ...Hell, I have changed." Emory closed her eyes.

"But we can't let this world strip us of our goodness...our humanity!" Dale cried out with emotion.

"A few months ago I would have agreed with you. But now? I trust Daryl's judgment because you're right, he is a good man." Emory agreed causing Daryl to blush again.

"He's also the only one of us who has spent any time talking to Randall...looked him in the eyes." Emory reminded Dale. "He knows best if this is just an innocent kid caught up in a bad situation...or if he's a real threat to us?"

"And?" Dale's old, wizened eyes stared at Daryl.

"He ain't innocent that's fer sure. While he ain't the ringleader er nuthin', he's done and been apart of some sick shit. Raping young girls while makin' the daddy watch...that's who this guy is now Dale. And he's a weasel liar too. He'll say anything to save himself." Daryl gave Dale his honest opinion.

"Dale, we got people to protect. OUR own people. We cain't afford ta be wrong with this guy," Daryl explained it in simple terms.

"I'm not saying we welcome him into the group. But killing him? How are we any better than that group we're so afraid of?" Dale retorted. And that did get to Emory.

'Were they becoming the monsters they were so afraid of?' She asked herself.

"Sorry Dale. This is Rick's call," Daryl dismissed the older man and turned and walked back to his rock. Emory however paused before she stepped forward to hug a very surprised Dale.

"Thank you for this. We need you doing this. All of us need you. I'll think on it, I promise," Emory conceded that maybe she should give this a lot more thought. She watched Dale turn and trudge back, shoulders hunched and obviously taking this hard. Emory rejoined Daryl on the boulder and took a deep breath.

"What was that about?" Daryl peered over at her.

"I don't know. His points got to me. Maybe he's right? Maybe we should find another way?" Emory wondered aloud.

"No way! That kid is trouble. And I ain't gonna risk anything happening to ya over that piece a scum," Daryl spat as he remembered the way that little shit practically got off on telling his little story.

"Daryl, don't you dare make this about me. What does your conscience tell you is right?" Emory couldn't let him have a man's death on his hands because of her.

"He's a dangerous slimy snake and I don't want you to ever be near him," Daryl's voice became hard and cold and Emory knew Daryl's mind was made up.

-/-/-/-

"I gotta go do this," Daryl told her long after the big townhall style meeting in Hershel's living room to decide Randall's fate. He was preparing to go and escort Randall to the barn where Rick was planning to execute the boy tonight.

"I know," Emory leaned up and kissed his lips. "Just be careful." In the end Emory had ultimately sided with Dale, but with just her, Andrea and Dale they were easily outvoted.

Daryl snorted and turned away to march towards the shed, but he had a quiet smile on his face as he thought of her waiting for him to come back. That she cared if he did come back. That she cared despite disagreeing on this.

-/-/-/-/-/-

"Emory! How can you just let him do this?" Carol laid into her the moment she joined Glenn, Lori and Andrea by the campfire. Dale was still too upset to be around any of them, and nobody knew where he was. Emory had checked the RV which at least was still there. Emory had worried a little that Dale might be so disgusted with the group that he'd just take his RV and leave.

"What are you talking about?" Emory frowned at the petite woman.

"Daryl! He's not Rick's henchman!" Carol was obviously very upset.

"Rick doesn't need a henchman!" Lori snapped at Carol, obviously hanging on today by a thread. Her lover and likely father of her child had just been buried and now her husband was about to murder a kid.

"Doesn't he?" Carol snapped back.

"Oh right! Like when we found Sophia? Did you see anyone else stepping up to do what needed to be done?" Lori answered cruelly.

"Hey Stop It! Both of you! Its been an awful and really long day and the last thing we need to do is start sniping at each other," Emory turned and yelled at everyone, daring anyone else to speak up.

So they stood around in almost meditative silence, all of them staring into the remaining fire embers as they crackled orange and red. Emory could feel the tension escalate with each minute they didn't hear a gunshot.

Emory eventually saw Rick marching into the campsight with Carl being dragged by his arm. As soon as he reached Lori, he yanked her with him and they all headed towards their tent. The only words any of them heard were, "He wanted to watch, Lori. Carl wanted to watch!"

Emory could literally hear the agony in Rick's voice as he told his wife what happened. Or rather, what didn't happen.

Daryl finally joined the group after locking Randall back up and sat down beside Emory while he told the group what happened.

"I think I'm going to go tell Dale," Andrea was visibly relieved by the news. Glenn ran to go tell the Greene's...or rather tell Maggie to be specific.

"How are you doing?" Emory turned to ask him. In spite of everything, she still wasn't sure what Daryl's feelings on the matter were. He actually looked like he felt relief they hadn't done it.

"Dunno ta tell ya the truth. We cain't just pretend that this kid didn't try to kill our folks...and his people do bad shit. But killing him? That don't feel like us. Yer right. It feels like Shane," Daryl sighed and Emory tilted her head to rest it on his shoulder. She rested her hand on his dirty knee and became lost in thought beside him.

How come everything seemed to be so much harder now? Wasn't trying to survive the walkers enough? Now they had to survive their fellow human beings too?

Daryl held his breath and refused to move. Today had been shit upon crap upon more shit. But now...in this single moment ...this was good.

"Aaagghhhh" a far off scream ripped through the night and Daryl was the first to go running off into the field towards the source of the scream. Emory snatched the nearest lantern and the same first aid kit she'd used on Daryl and ran towards Daryl.

She could feel others behind her but didn't have time to stop and see who was there and who wasn't.

"Over here!" She heard Daryl scream and soon she could make out his frantic, waving hands. The others were following her since her lantern was the easiest to see in the dark of night.

As soon as she reached Daryl and saw Dale lying on the ground, his abdomen shredded and guts pulled out she knew it was over for Dale. She fell to her knees beside him, stroking his head.

It was obvious he was already in shock. He was shivering from cold despite the warm night. She had to help him. She opened the first aid kit and pulled the vial of morphine.

"Don't waste it. He won't make it long enough for it to even take effect," Hershel placed a gentle hand on Emory's shoulder. Tears were no longer streaming, they were flooding from her eyes. She barely even felt Andrea push her out of the way.

"We have to do something for him?" Emory whispered up into Hershel's wise old eyes. Hershel knew Emory was a deeply caring and sensitive woman. But she had no experience with the cycle of life and death like he had been his entire career. He'd just never anticipated anything like this.

"Help him. He's in pain!" Andrea cried out...begging ...her gaze settling on Rick. With a heavy sigh Rick pulled out his pistol and cocked the trigger. He aimed it at Dale's head.

Rick never even saw Daryl step in front of him to take his pistol.

"Sorry Brother!" Daryl whispered before he pulled the trigger...ending Dale's suffering.

-/-/-/-/-/-

Emory was sure it had to be near 3:00 am by the time they got Dale's body back and buried. They'd had to dig a grave that night as it was just too dangerous to leave him out and possibly attract more walkers.

Emory wanted to talk to Daryl but he and Rick, Glenn and T-Dog had been so busy and so he told her to go and get some sleep. She'd been reluctant to just leave him with all he'd been through today, but she was simply too exhausted to argue. In fact she collapsed on her cot, boots still on.

Daryl peeked in on her over an hour later. He'd just meant to make sure she was ok and then head back to his tent. He unzipped her tent and found her face down on her cot, a dribble of drool leaking from her lips.

He knew she would wake up stiff and uncomfortable if she slept like that so he slowly undid her boots and slid them off.

Emory's eyes fluttered open at the strange feeling of someone taking her shoes off. She momentarily panicked until she saw it was Daryl.

"Hey, are you done?" She wiped her eyes groggily as she made out his form.

"Yep...we're gonna have a service in the morning," Daryl's voice was weary. His body and mind both exhausted.

"You sound exhausted," Emory commented.

"Yeah," was all the response he could muster.

"Come here," she pulled his hand and urged him to sit down on the floor. She sat up on her cot behind him, letting him lean back. She reached for her pillow to rest it under his neck so the metal from the cot wouldn't dig in. Then she gently began to massage the tension from his neck and shoulders. He tensed immediately, unprepared for her touch. But after a second, he couldn't deny how amazing her magic fingers felt.

"Ya don't gotta do that," He mumbled, but secretly he hoped she didn't stop.

"I want to," her breath was husky and warm in his ear. She continued gently stroking the knots caused by a day of tension and grueling work.

"You can lay down in here if you want," Emory offered and to her surprise, Daryl just nodded. Daryl was starting to feel so good and relaxed he wondered if he would have jumped off a roof if she suggested it. She continued far longer than he should have let her, knowing how little time they had until it was morning. When she did finally stop, semi-pleased with her work, she handed him one of her extra pillows as well as two blankets which he silently accepted.

Just as she was about to fall back asleep, she swore she heard him say, "Thanks Em."


	8. Chapter 8 - I Will Find You

Daryl woke up feeling relaxed and refreshed the instant the morning light began streaming in through the slats over the windows and through white lace curtains that seemed so incongruent with the horrors on the outside.

His attention was immediately brought to the uncomfortable strain in his pants. His dick was rock hard, and it was all he could do to keep himself from rubbing himself against the soft warm flesh snuggled against him. Emory's leg was tossed casually over his and her slim hand rested possessively atop his chest.

He looked over at her sleeping face, so beautiful and peaceful. A thin line of spittle was dripping from her mouth and he knew she'd be upset if she knew he'd seen her like this. And it only made the intimate moment more perfect to him. He'd never spent the entire night with a woman before Emory...had never wanted to, until now.

He turned away slightly to get himself under control then rolled back to her.

"I gotta go," he kissed her sweetly on the lips.

"Ummm - Nooo. Don't go," her sleepy arms wrapped around his neck to pull him back. Daryl hesitated momentarily but then gave in and let her pull him back down. She just felt too damn good, and he couldn't recall ever feeling this good in his own skin.

Emory was still half asleep but his lips on hers soon heated her up and her dreams quickly lost their appeal when compared to the reality of Daryl on top of her. With dreamy abandon, she wrapped herself around him.

"I..." Daryl slid his tongue between her lips. "Gotta..." Emory's tongue tangled around his. "Go," Daryl moaned. They were both breathing in heavy pants now.

"I know," Emory sighed. Her fingers were still intertwined in his hair, making soft circles with her her fingertips.

Daryl looked into her silver eyes, sparkling up at him like diamonds now that the sunlight was coming through the window in bright beams. He felt a heavy pressure in his heart all of a sudden as it hit him...what would he do if she wasn't there? He knew he could survive. But then it dawned on him that he might not really want to. And that scared the fuck out of him. But he pushed it down.

Because tonight. He'd wanted to be with her since ...well he couldn't even remember. But until now he'd refused to even allow himself to consider the possibility. But here he was with her fingers in his hair and he wanted her more than he ever thought it was possible to want anything.

He knew Dale had squirreled away a few bottles of wine and liquor they'd snatched from the CDC still in the RV. Maybe he could talk to Carol for help and plan something nice. But what he really needed was condoms. Glenn was the man!

"Hmmmm! Damn. I gotta go and relieve Andrea," Daryl groaned as he reluctantly pulled out of her warm embrace.

"Hey Daryl" she called to him as he stood at the door, those steamy blue eyes making her tingle. "Ya know...I slept really well last night," Emory admitted, feeling her own blush pinken her cheeks. The look he gave her as he turned...full of heat and desire...made her struggle to swallow.

She watched him get up and leave, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"Argghhh, I want that man...so much!" Emory groaned and pounded the pillow with her fist.

-/-/-/-/-

Breakfast was a robust meal of fresh scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast made from bread that Carol had baked fresh. Emory couldn't help but wonder if maybe the Amish were doing just fine. Having access to a full kitchen had inspired and comforted Carol and everyone benefitted.

The guys ate quickly before the others woke up. Emory threw on another dress Maggie had given her and joined the the others in the kitchen for breakfast. But there was a new smell this morning...chocolate. Emory felt her salivary glands go into overdrive and she followed the smell like a trained bloodhound.

"Chocolate! I know it! I smell it, Carol!" Emory accused Carol as she sought out the source of the temptation.

"I know!" Carol agreed literally vibrating with excitement. "Glenn found some Cocoa Powder on his run yesterday. So I decided to make these." She theatrically spun around to reveal a platter piled high with chocolate squares.

"Oh my God. Can I have one please?" Emory begged praying Carol wouldn't be so cruel as to make her wait until tonight. Just then Carl and Lori walked into the kitchen.

"Mom! Look what Carol made!" Carl was nearly as excited as Emory. "Can I have one?"

Carol reached to give the eager child one when Lori stopped her. "After lunch you can have one. I don't want you spoiling your appetite." Lori insisted, thinking it was the 'motherly' thing to do. Carl protested but when he saw the stern set on his mother's face he stormed out the screen door.

"Damn Carol! If you don't stop all this baking I'm going to have to ask Glenn to go to town and find me some bigger clothes. But you can see how little that bothers me!" Emory groaned as she devoured another bite of moist brownie. When Lori took a brownie herself and sat beside her, Emory raised an accusatory eyebrow but Lori just shrugged.

"Gimme a break! I'm pregnant," Lori bit down to exaggerate her point. "I, for one, don't want you to stop baking."

"I know, it's great having access to this kitchen after making do with just that camp stove and the RV. I just can't seem to stop myself... and Maggie and Patricia said they don't mind. Besides both you two are so thin you'd make those fashion models feel fat," Carol pointed out, slightly envious of their lanky builds. "We need to put some meat back on your bones."

"I think I may need another one then," Lori surreptitiously pinched another brownie, gulping the last of her coffee down.

"Are things going ok with you and Rick and Carl? I know losing Shane was hardest on your family," Emory finally brought up the elephant in the room.

"I really don't know, to tell you the truth." Lori shook her head as she continued pinching moist bites of brownie off and popping them into her mouth

"Rick talked to Carl and explained that Shane had the sickness and wasn't in his right mind. He seems to be handling it pretty well... maybe too well, if that makes any sense." Lori wiped a stray tear away before regaining her composure.

"I hate seeing my sweet baby boy changing in front of my eyes. This world is making him hard...cold," Lori's voice quaked with unresolved emotion.

"And here I am bringing another life into this nightmare we live," Lori still couldn't accept her pregnancy.

"Nightmare?" Emory reached for Lori's hand and held it tightly. "Look around you! I see difficulty but I also see beauty and generosity. And you still have your family! We are here in a warm kitchen having coffee and brownies, invited to stay with the Greene's in this safe haven...surrounded by people who would die to protect each other!" Emory became a little choked up and Lori looked ashamed.

"We can make this life worth living don't you think?" Emory herself needed to believe it, or why not just end it all? Lori nodded and smiled at them with tear filled eyes.

"Then why don't you take your son a brownie or three and talk about your concerns with him," Emory finished while Carol took another few chocolate confections out and folded a paper napkin around it.

Emory smiled at Carol over her coffee mug while Lori ran off to find Carl.

"So...does this mean we can we talk about you and Daryl now?" Carol turned to Emory as she dried and put away the last dish, tossing the damp drying cloth over her shoulder.

"Me and Daryl?" Emory asked innocently, not prepared to offer up any details. If anything, she wished she had details to give.

"Oh, don't you even try that!" Carol rolled her eyes, letting on she wasn't buying Emory's innocent act. "Heck, you two sharing that piano room is right up there with moving in together."

"Oh My God...is that what everyone thinks? Did Daryl say anything? What if he was just thinking about safety and here I am thinking this is more than it is?" Emory felt her heart rate quicken and panic.

"Come on Emory? You can't possibly believe safety was Daryl's primary motive. I mean wouldn't you be safer clotted up in the living room with the rest of us?" Carol's eyes twinkled like she knew something Emory didn't.

"I take it things haven't progressed to ...," Carol paused to find the right words. "you know?"

"Unless hot sexy dreams count," Emory lamented, realizing she was frustrated ...sexually frustrated. Carol immediately picked up on Emory's confusion and intuited that Emory was worried she was doing something wrong.

"Emory, you know Daryl isn't the type to make the first move. That's why it's such a huge step that he did what he did." Carol pointed out. But Carol knew Daryl's reticence likely went much deeper.

"He never talks about those scars on his back and chest. But from someone who knows... the physical scars are usually the least painful. Its the ones you don't see that hurt and scar the most," Carol's own scars ran painfully deep.

"So, you think I should just take it easy...give him some space? Let him set the pace?" Emory would never want to push Daryl or make him uncomfortable.

"No...I didn't say that. Sometimes, people get so stuck where they're at that they need to be pushed...so they can move on. Like inertia. Ed's death gave me that initial push...but not enough. And then Sophia's death gave me a different sort of push. Sadly too late." Carol collapsed onto the kitchen chair beside Emory.

"So what should I do?" Emory turned to Carol, grateful to have met such a friend.

"I have no fucking idea. I've only been with two men in my entire life. So you are asking the wrong woman." Carol choked out before they both fell out laughing.

-/-/-/-/

"Hey there," T-Dog gripped Daryl's hand tightly as he joined Rick and Glenn outside to discuss the new security plan.

"Wow Daryl! Looks like you slept really well. First time I saw you sleep in?" Glenn grinned widely as he teased the redneck.

"The hell ya care when I sleep?" Daryl snarled at Glenn, but mostly just because he was embarrassed about being the topic of conversation.

"I didn't mean...I don't...Of course, I mean, it doesn't matter who you sleep..." Glenn began blushing and stammering, earning another angry glare from Daryl.

"Come on, drop it Glenn. We need to get to work," Rick placed a protective hand on Daryl's shoulder before spreading out the county map on the truck hood. The same one they had pored over while searching for Sophia.

"I think someone's already been gettin' to work," T-Dog couldn't resist and even Rick caught himself smirking before forcing himself to put back on his serious, Sheriff's face.

"Enough you all...now, Hershel letting us stay here is a huge boon," Rick cricked his neck languorously while simultaneously pointing out the Greene's farm on the map. Sleeping on a real bed had been amazing.

"I haven't slept this well since that night at the CDC," Glenn agreed. He'd slept great once he'd gone to sleep. He'd asked Maggie for a second chance on her offer to sleep in her room and was glad he had...but that meant a lot of sex and little sleep.

"Well, we still have to keep watch for walkers. And Randall's group...and other's like then...and they will come. And we can't forget that with the creek bed drying up it won't be an effective barrier against walkers for much longer," Rick traced his forefinger along the creek bed to the south of the farm.

"I think if we keep watch on four hour shifts from up there on the windmill perch, we'll be ok. Have sufficient warning. We should also start work on building a taller, more secure watch tower over there so we can get a view of the entire property. Then we can think about maybe building a fence...put up something stronger than those horse rails," Rick rattled off just a few of the things he knew needed doing if they were going to secure this place.

"But first we have to deal with Randall," Rick brought up their most pressing concern of the moment.

"Daryl, I need you to go with me to take Randall far away from here. Carol will pack up a bag of supplies for him...then we'll drop him off near Senoia. Give him a chance. That's the best we can do," Rick was obviously still struggling with this decision...the ghosts of Dale and Shane heavy on his mind.

"Yeah. Be good to get this whole Randall shit behind us anyways," Daryl agreed, a little surprised at having moved up to Rick's right hand man, on this expedition anyway,

"Thanks Daryl...we'll leave after lunch," Rick clasped Daryl's hand in a firm and thankful handshake.

As Daryl went to leave Rick pulled him back.

"That thing with Dale...I never thanked you." Rick placed a solid hand on Daryl's shoulder. The frank look of sincerity in Rick's eyes startled Daryl.

"No sense ya gotta do all the heavy liftin'," Daryl still doubted if he could have ended Sophia. He looked away in embarassment.

"Just wanna know that we're good," Rick squeezed Daryl's shoulder.

"We're good," Daryl assured him then left to take a piss.

-/-/-/-/-

Rick announced his plan for Randall during lunch while everyone gathered around the large dining table. Lori, of course, was none too pleased that her husband was hying off yet again to solve yet another group problem. Before she could stop herself, her mind instantly went back to Shane's words...that Shane's first priority was and would always be her, Carl and the baby. She was doubting more and more that Rick would ever be able say the same.

But Lori bit her lip and kept silent throughout the rest of lunch...something she was growing more and more accustomed to. In fact, her lips nearly had scars from the years of constant biting.

Emory was more surprised than upset to learn that Daryl would be joining Rick on Operation Dropoff Randall. But still she instantly reached for his hand under the table, wishing someone else was going. Why couldn't Glenn or T-Dog go? But something in the way Daryl swaggered in for lunch, told her he liked being chosen by Rick.

So Emory held her tongue all through lunch... up until Daryl and Rick began preparing to leave.

"I know you don't like it...when I get...emotional," Emory bit her lower lip. She knew this Randall trip needed to happen, but still hated that Daryl was going. Emory suddenly had an insight into what Lori felt most of the time.

"So,...please, just come back to me," Emory's eyes glistened with moisture.

"What the hell else am I gonna do?" Daryl blushed and looked away from her. He desperately wanted to say something better...something to let her know he liked it when she got emotional about him.

Emory ignored his dry reply and pulled his head down to kiss her. "Just be careful,"

And with that Emory walked away. Daryl knew his jaw was open as he watched her walk away in that pretty summer dress that swished around her hips. Damned if he didn't love watching that woman in a dress.

"Ah No Way!" T-Dog's frustrated scream could be heard across the entire farm. He'd opened the combo lock to find the shed completely empty, except for a pair of bloody handcuffs still hitched to the wall. Upon closer examination there was also a good bit of flesh.

Chaos erupted and everyone gathered outside the shed, terrified at how that this could have happened right under their noses . Had Randall been helped by his group? What if they were still nearby?

Rick immediately took charge. Everyone was ordered to hunker down inside the house while T-Dog, Daryl, Glenn, and even Jimmy were all needed to secure the perimeter...and hopefully find Randall.

Emory instinctively ran to Daryl, all reservations thrown aside. She didn't want to be cooped up in that house. She wanted to be out there with him. Willing to do whatever it takes. And she told him so, but Daryl was firm.

"Em! Get inside that house and stay there until I come for you. Make sure ya got yer weapons and yer bag in case we gotta run!" Daryl held her tight as he ordered her.

"And you? Where will you be?" Emory begged, having a terrible feeling about tonight.

"Just stay inside until I come for you!" Daryl swore at her just before he followed Rick off into the forest.

-:/-:/-,/-\-m

Emory had her weapons, ammo and gear packed, already preparing herself for the worst. She also took the liberty of packing Daryl's things, then shoved a few canned goods into her pack just in case. Then they started packing and loading 'Go Bags'.

But eventually they ran out of tasks and were left with nothing to do but sit in the Greene's living room and wait, every one of them on edge. Emory knew they should have been back by now already. It was dark and she knew Daryl wouldn't risk searching out there at night.

"Stop fidgeting Emory. You're just making the rest of us crazy," Andrea accused even though she herself had already picked her cuticles so badly they were now bleeding.

"They should be back by now! We all know it. I've gotta go try find them," Emory stormed out of the chair to grab her pack.

"Stop it Emory. You and Andrea are our best shots. If anything has happened, we need you here," Hershel stood up to try and regain some sense of calm and control.

"I can't just leave him...them, out there," Emory corrected but they all knew her heart and emotions were with Daryl.

"I know sweetie! Let's just give them five more minutes and then we'll try and think of something else," Lori had been a Sheriff's wife far too long and knew the drill. You stay strong and you wait. It had been the hardest thing about their marriage.

Just at the five minute mark the door flung open and Glenn and Daryl marched inside, soon followed by T-Dog and Jimmy.

Emory threw herself into Daryl's arms and Maggie did the same to Glenn. But Lori still was left wondering about Rick.

"Where's Rick?" Lori cried, desperate for news.

"He ain't here? We heard a shot and figured he'd headed back," Daryl explained.

"Could Randall or his gang have shot at Rick?" Andrea asked the guys.

"We found Randall but he was already a walker," Daryl explained, holding Emory a little tighter.

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asked.

"Weird thing was, we couldn't find a bite. Just a gunshot," Glenn tried to explain.

"Can we please go find my husband?" Lori pleaded.

"You got it," Daryl instantly agreed to go back out and look for Rick. Emory, hurt and frustrated, ran after him, prepared to beg him not to go.

"Holy Fuck Mother Of God!" Daryl gasped, causing Glenn to stop abruptly and slam into his back. Emory was right behind them, and she felt her knees weaken at the sight before her. Illuminated by the full moon, she looked out over the Greene's pastures and fields and there were so many walkers it was like some sort of insect infestation. They looked like ants scurrying.

"Oh Dear God! I've never seen so many!" Emory's voice barely a whisper and Daryl's strong arm pulled her close.

"Ya don't happen to have an old bootleggin' tunnel under this house ya been holdin' out on us have ya?" Daryl snapped at a stunned Hershel who had followed them outside. But Hershel grimly shook his head No.

"Maggie, get the guns. This is my farm! I'll die here!" Hershel snatched up the first shotgun from the heavy canvas bag Maggie brought up from storage.

"Em! I need ya ta get in that truck and get the hell off this farm!" Daryl pulled her close as he ordered.

"No Way! I'm not leaving this farm without you." Emory swore, tears welling in her eyes.

"Yes! You Will. You stay alive... Do whatever ya gotta. I'll find you! I swear, I will find you!" Daryl promised just before he slipped off the wooden rails, his crossbow over his shoulder.

"You'd better," she yelled into the eerie moonlight as walkers continued their take over of Hershel's farm.

Those were the last words Daryl heard before all hell broke loose.

-:-::/-/-;/-/-


	9. Chapter 9 - I Can't Do This On My Own

Emory took a moment to just try and breathe and then she forced herself down the wooden steps of the sturdy white farmhouse and began shooting, picking off walkers as they approached. She didn't miss very often and seemingly entered a sort of fugue killing stafe. And there was also the singular desire to live through the night.

But the sheer number of decomposing dead bodies that were lumbering across Hershel's fields made it clear that this battle was already lost. And Emory hated wasting any more of their precious ammo on what she could already tell was a lost cause. The Greene's farm was being overrun by more walkers than she had ever seen before...hundreds and hundreds of them kept coming.

She couldn't even begin to process the sense of loss she was feeling at the moment. Adrenaline, instinct and Daryl were the only things keeping her moving now. She paused momentarily to look for him and off in the distance she saw him on his bike near the RV, which was heading toward the flaming barn.

Hershel still stood proudly in front of his home and just kept firing off shotgun rounds towards the unrelenting onslaught of walkers... determined to make his last stand.

But Hershel simply couldn't keep up with the sheer number of walking dead...they just kept coming and coming. Emory glanced over at Hershel, concerned that he probably didn't have all that much ammo left either.

"Hershel! We've got to go! I'm sorry but your farm is lost!" Emory yelled at the man while preparing to run for the cars.

She could no longer see Daryl and the barn was fully engulfed in flames. The smoke did seem to make the walkers more lethargic but they still had the numbers. Emory stood still a moment and took in the totality of tonight's horror. Smoke and blood and death permeated the night and she couldn't even find Daryl.

Hershel still refused to budge from his spot, and instead he started screaming to his daughters...telling them to run and leave him.

"Carl! I can't find Carl!" Lori slammed out of the house and screamed a few minutes later, looking around frantically. It was all Emory could do not to roll her eyes and slap Lori. That was her only job after Randall escaped ...to watch Carl, and it was obviously too much for Lori to manage. Arrgghh, she groaned and bit her tongue.

"Lori! We can't stay here. Carl's a smart boy and he's probably with Rick! But we've gotta go," Emory screamed at the panicked woman.

"He's going to need his mother," Carol pulled and coaxed a reluctant Lori along.

Emory left Lori in Carol's capable hands and grabbed her things. She threw her pack over her shoulder and ran for the nearest truck. She dragged Patricia and Beth along with her while also providing cover fire.

"Hurry the fuck up Emory!" T-Dog yelled from the blue pickup. He cranked the truck to life and gunned the engine, anxious to get the hell off this farm.

Emory ran as fast as she could, only turning around when she heard Beth scream. Emory turned just in time to see Patricia get clotheslined by a walker, its teeth instantly shredding her neck.

It devastated Emory to keep moving but she forced herself to shut the image out of her mind and kept running ... all the while yanking a distraught Beth from her dying sister. Patricia was now gone...and nobody could do a damn thing about it.

Emory shoved the now sobbing and convulsing Beth into the pickup next to Lori before jumping inside with them, barely able to pull the door shut. She desperately looked around the dark chaos for anyone else that might not have made it to a truck.

"Oh No...Not Carol! She's pinned down by the horse barn!" Emory cried out. No way! Not Carol!

Before T-Dog could stop her Emory jumped out of the truck and ran towards a terrified Carol whose back was pressed up against the horse barn...desperate with nowhere to run.

Emory stood still for a second to take aim. She easily shot the two walkers bearing down Carol. But before the smoke cleared she heard Carol screaming at her.

"Look out behind you, Em!" Carol yelled, running forward to help her friend. A walker grabbed Emory's backpack and yanked hard, nearly pulling her down. Before Carol could stab him, a gunshot pulverized the walker's skull, missing Emory by mere inches. Emory gasped for breath, then looked up to see Andrea standing there, her gun barrel still smoking and wearing a satisfied grin.

"Nice shootingp ...much better than last time," Emory flashed Andrea her own grateful grin. Andrea likewise shot Emory a friendly 'one-fingered salute'. But that was the length of there respite. The walkers were once again everywhere and there was no time for thank you's.

"Carol, Run! T-Dog is right over there!" Emory pushed Carol in the direction of the still waiting pickup.

Carol frantically ran through the smoky night towards the blue pickup truck. As soon as she saw it she ran as fast as she could, assuming Emory was right behind her.

But just before Carol could reach the truck it became swarmed with walkers. She watched in horror as the truck drove away, T-Dog having no choice but to gun the engine and leave. She could still hear him screaming in anger.

"What do we do now?" Carol turned to ask Emory who was not right behind her.

"Carol! Run...get off this farm now . Get to the highway," Emory screamed to Carol, her voice raw from all the smoke, gun fire and dehydration. She returned to shooting walkers to give Carol a semi-clear path. It was the best she could do for her friend. Now she had to save herself and Andrea.

Andrea was struggling with three more walkers bearing down on her once again getting jammed up by the horse barn. She gave Carol a quick wave and turned around to resume shooting at the walkers nearest Andrea.

Somehow with all the smoke and chaos she lost sight of Andrea. She could only guess she must have run off into the woods since she wasn't on the ground. Emory sighed once again as she looked around the farm at the destruction, never feeling more helpless and alone. She needed transportation...and safety. She wanted Daryl, she thought as tears began streaming down her face.

She looked around trying to locate any of the vehicles she had so diligently packed with supplies. They were all gone.

But they were NOT all gone she realized a second later. But shit...shit...shit, she swore with a sickening feeling in her gut.

There was still ONE vehicle left... Dale's RV. The RV was still sitting there by the burning barn that still held Jimmy's body and God only knew how many walkers.

No freakin' way! I can't do this! Not by myself! It's impossible! But how much longer am I going to make it if I don't try? I have to live. Fuck that...I want to live!" her internal voice boomed and she slowly made her way towards the barn.

Emory continued her internal debate, but quickly switched from complaining to strategy and accepted that she'd just committed herself to what was likely a suicide mission.

The walkers had managed to drag poor Jimmy's body from the doorway of the RV and now eight or nine walkers were ravenously feasting on the young boy's intestines. But as the walkers grouped together they also effectively protected the door to the RV.

Her only other viable option into the RV was to try and crawl in through the driver's window which was still rolled down. But she would need to find something to help her get up that high.

She began frantically looking around for anything of use. She saw over there, under the shed were a bunch of saw horses and a stack of wooden pallets. She ran over and grabbed one of the saw horses, despondently grateful that the walkers were still so preoccupied with Jimmy.

She agilely hopped up onto the thin 2x4 and peeked inside. She didn't see any walkers from her position so made the commitment to crawl inside. She fell inside the RV awkwardly, her hands falling between the seats for support.

The walkers must have heard her tumbling inside or else they caught a whiff of her scent or most likely, both. But regardless of how or why, some ten walkers suddenly glared up at her with milky eyes and mouths drooling with Jimmy's blood.

She gunned the engine with her palm, and the RV lurched forward. Fortunately the walkers devouring Jimmy had little interest in the slow moving RV. The door still dangled open and with the RV still moving she ran over to pull it shut and locking it.

She still had no idea if there were any walkers inside the RV but she didn't have time to check and find out. She slid back into the driver's side and floored the gas, watching in the side mirror how the walkers banged fists against the old RV.

She rolled up the window as she drove so as not to make Jimmy's mistake. When she made it to the dirt road Emory slammed the RV into park and flipped on the interior lights and pulled her handgun. To her amazement the walkers must have been satisfied with Jimmy and saw no need to enter the RV.

Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins and her hands were shaking now that the immediate danger had passed. Except the immediate danger never actually passed. Lori was right, they lived with a knife at their throats every day. She kept her eyes on the lookout for Andrea and Carol as she slowly drove down the smoky dirt road.

Her thoughts then went to Daryl. Did he make it? Of course he did, you idiot, she scolded herself, refusing to consider Daryl might be gone. She was certain she'd feel his loss. But would she be able to catch up with the others? Please God? I can't do this alone.

Daryl paced the asphalt highway which was only now starting to warm from the newly risen sun. He'd found Carol on the road and carried her with him to the highway. He was grateful to find Rick, Carl and Hershel already there and he'd actually followed Glenn and Maggie in the Hyundai after catching up with them on the highway.

Just as they finished their frantic greetings he saw T-Dog pulling up in the blue pickup. Lori and Beth were the first to race out to embrace their family. Daryl's blue eyes narrowed as he waited for Emory to come running out. Instead T-Dog came lumbering towards him, eyes full of guilt.

"She ain't with me. I'm sorry man... I had her but she jumped out," T-Dog couldn't even look Daryl in the eye.

"Are ya fuckin' kidding me! Why the fuck ain't she with ya'll?" Daryl screamed angrily at T-Dog, then spun around accusing Lori also. "She was s'posed to be with ya'll."

"She WAS with them Daryl. It's my fault. But she jumped out of the truck to save me," Carol stepped forward and admitted to Daryl, guilty tears now streaming down her face. This was all her fault...and Daryl would never forgive her. Emory should be here with Daryl...not her.

"If that's s'pposed ta make me feel better, it don't!" Daryl yelled at Carol. His voice cracked much as it had when he'd learned about Merle. He walked away just in time so that the others couldn't see the tears in his eyes. But Carol saw and her shoulders slumped.

"Goddamn all ya'll!" Daryl kicked a nearby abandoned car as hard as he could, welcoming the physical pain that radiated up through his leg. Rick went to go after him but Carol pulled him back. She knew it was best to let Daryl calm down in his own time.

"What about Andrea?" Glenn asked. "Did anyone see her?"

"She was with Emory last I could make out," Carol was wracked with guilt that Andrea and Emory had likely given their lives for her.

"I'm gonna go back and get Emory...Andrea too," Daryl straddled his bike and revved it.

"No Daryl! No more getting separated...we can't afford to lose any more of us. Not as thin as we are right now." Rick's voice held a renewed strength of authority.

"I ain't leavin' her. I cain't! Ya cain't ask me to...not again," Daryl screamed back at Rick, his face overcome with rage. Rick knew Daryl wasn't bluffing but that also put him in a quandary. He could lay down the law and risk losing Daryl or risk losing authority. Both options fraught with risk.

"They're not there Daryl! You know that! They're either dead or they ran off... to somewhere else." Rick hated speaking so coldly to him but he had no choice.

"Ok, how's this? We'll wait here for a few more minutes and see if they show up...give them a little longer," Rick conceded, joining the others as they all prayed for Emory and Andrea to make it back to the highway.

Daryl reluctantly nodded a tacit agreement to the deal, frustrated by everything. He grabbed his crossbow and began patrolling the treeline just in case she'd had no choice but to run back through the woods.

'Emory! Please be ok?" He prayed to any God who would answer as he recalled his own words ... the ones where he promised to find her. He was going back to find her if she didn't show up in the next few minutes. He'd promised her. Screw Rick.

-/-/-/-/-

Emory finally made it to the highway, grateful at no longer having to drive the bulky RV so painfully slow over those bumpy dirt roads. But it was that or risk the old clunker failing on her. Please...please still let them be there, she begged God.

She punched the gas of the big RV and once again it slowly lumbered toward that same giant traffic snarl where they'd originally gotten stuck.

How long ago had that been...when they'd scoured the forest desperate to find Sophia? Was it two...,maybe three weeks ago. Or more likely it was four? Regardless, it felt like a lifetime.

-/-/-/-/:-/

"I'm so sorry Daryl, but we can't risk staying on this highway any longer. It's not safe for any of us." Rick spoke slowly and calmly trying not to rile Daryl up. Daryl waited before slowly glaring up into Rick's eyes, Daryl's blue eyes glowing.

"Emory wouldn't want this for you. You know that!" Rick grabbed Daryl as he jumped up to get back on his bike.

"We all know how she feels about you. We saw it time and time again. And we know she would want you to stay alive...and to stay with us," Rick pleaded with and manipulated Daryl not to go off half-cocked.

"I cain't just leave her. One way er the other I gotta know." Daryl knew the tears were threatening again so turned away abruptly. "If it was Lori or Carl?" He glared at Rick who he knew was also hanging on by a thread.

"Ya'll just go on. I'll catch up with ya," Daryl promised and he actually meant it which surprised him more than anyone.

Glenn was the one to see it first. In fact, he had to rub his eyes to make sure whether it was real and not just an hallucination.

"Holy God!" He yanked his binoculars up to get a better look. The sight of Dale's RV driving closer made him wonder if perhaps he'd been out in the sun too long. Glenn wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.

"What the fuck ya goin' on about Chinaman?" Daryl ran to jump up onto the roof of the truck to stand beside Glenn.

"Its the RV. Someone's driving Dale's RV!" Glenn shouted incredulously.

Daryl couldn't just stand there waiting. He threw his crossbow over his shoulder and raced along the congested highway to meet the old camper.

Emory saw Daryl running towards her and she desperately wanted to pound the horn and scream out the window. But she knew she it wasn't safe and so she just bit her lip and wiped away the tears streaming down her eyes. They waited for her!

She slowed down after making it as far as she could through the wrech of cars. She threw the RV into park and, of course, the RV's hose broke yet agajn. The RV burped and lurched as it came to its dramatic and final halt.

Emory just sat there in the driver's seat...her jaw turning slack as she saw most of her adopted "family" running towards her.

Emory was desperate to run out of the RV and wrap her arms around them all. But she just collapsed and began sobbing at the wheel, adrenaline and emotion overtaking her.

Emory didn't even hear the pounding on the RV door or the screaming. She could only sob and grip Dale's steering wheel tighter.

"Emmm! Open up the Goddamn Door'. Open the Fuckin' Door!" Daryl pounded again and again and then began kicking at the rickety door.

Daryl's voice finally managed to break through to Emory and it snapped her back to reality. She stumbled to the locked door on unsteady legs and snapped it open. Daryl flew into the RV and hauled her into his arms, wrapping his arms around... unable to get close enough to her.

"Daryl!" Emory kept murmuring his name over and over as if it was a prayer, her hands running freely over his body then caressing his stubbly cheeks.

"I was so scared I wouldn't find you," she cried into his mouth as they continued to kiss over and over.

"I didn't think..." She continued but Daryl stopped her with another passionate kiss. He hiked her thighs up around him and she crossed her ankles. He gripped her ass and held her to him. But still not close enough.

She had no idea how long they'd been lost in each other but eventually the loud 'coughing' from the doorway pulled them both out of their bubble.

Rick was first and foremost, with Glenn, T-Dog and Carol pressed right behind him. The others all waited behind.

"Emory, Thank God," Rick hugged her tight after Daryl finally put her down moved aside. She was immediately passed around until she'd hugged everyone.

"Did you see Andrea?" Glenn asked after they'd all welcomed her back.

"No," Emory shook her head sadly. She'd been hoping to find Andrea here already. "I took down some walkers bearing down on her but then they were on me. When I looked back she was already gone. I didn't see them get her though," Emory's throat was nearly raw from breathing in all that smoke.

"Rick, come on man. We cain't just leave Andrea...we gotta go back and find her," Daryl was grateful Emory had made it back to him which convinced him Andrea was probably alive too.

"Daryl," Rick spoke in his placating voice. "We can wait here a little longer while we transfer supplies out of the RV and we'll leave her a note and map telling her what direction we heading, but that's as much as we can risk."

Neither Daryl or Emory accepted leaving Andrea but they had little choice. They didn't like it, but they all worked fast to transfer supplies from the RV which they were forced to abandon. Their last task was to siphon gas, but when they'd finished Andrea still hadn't shown.

With heavy hearts they drove away.

-/-/-/-

Emory slid behind Daryl on his bike and hooked her fingers around his waist. And, with heavy hearts they all drove away. 


	10. Chapter 10-You're The Tease

**Just a bit of fluff and tease**

Emory tried not to count the days but her OCD anal retentiveness was too ingrained. In fact it had been thirty five days since they'd been forced to flee the farm.

Emory eyes slowly fluttered open as she looked around her. It was still dark and she felt the icy air chilling her to the bone. Before she knew it her teeth were chattering and she yanked her single blanket tighter.

Winter had hit hard in northwest Georgia. There was already a dusting of fresh snow on the ground. The cold didn't exactly stop the walkers, but it did seem to make them slower and they now tended to cluster together.

Since that night Rick set the Greene's barn on fire over a month ago, Rick had boldly declared his Rictatorship (also dropping the little bombshell that they were all infected). They'd had no choice but to scramble and run from place to place... Searching desperately for the elusive Sanctuary that Rick was convinced they would find.

Instead all they'd managed to find was one temporary shelter after the other...in abandoned homes, churches, office buildings, a grimy gas station and most recently this storage unit. Good for security but sucky accommodations. They'd been forced to run once again last night.

Thankfully, last night, they'd found this large secluded cabin further up in the west Georgia Mountains. It had access to a stream and the house thankfully had a well and a generator, which they had yet to get running. It was by far the best place they'd found so far.

"Come 'ere," Daryl whispered into her ear, her silky hair tickling his lips as he did so. His eyed opened up the instant he felt her shivering and he pulled her even closer. He wrapped his arm around her and snugged his blanket and heavy poncho a little more tightly around them both. Kinda like a human burrito.

"Thanks," Emory rolled over to snuggle closer to him and sighed into his warmth. Slowly she craned her neck up and her breath was warm and wet against his neck. She then let her tongue slide languorously over the thrumming vein on his neck before moving up to kiss his stubbly cheek.

Daryl had been slowly growing more comfortable with their physical intimacy. He'd initially had to fight the instinctive urge to flinch when her hands touched him but was slowly growing accustomed to it ...quickly coming to not only like, but even need it. Need her.

Still, Emory knew it was best to reserve that sort of thing for private moments such as this. As far as Daryl had come, he still wasn't ready to have the others see him be so vulnerable.

Being on the run these past few weeks had meant little to no privacy for anyone, least of all for her and Daryl. Or Glenn and Maggie.

Sadly, that was the least of Rick and Lori's worries. Since that day by the creek, they could barely be in the same room together. Emory was just thankful she didn't have to ride in the car with them.

Most nights, if they'd been lucky enough to find shelter, they huddled together in one room. Other nights they slept in their vehicles.

Fortunately a week or so after the farm burned, they'd raided an RV lot. They judiciously decided to abandon Hershel's late model Suburban in exchange for two small model RV's. The kind that can scoot out of a spot quickly...not the gigantic ones with all the amenities and slide outs. Of course, there had been protests and complaints for not taking at least one of the fancy ones but they all eventually agreed it was for the best.

Tonight though, they'd been lucky. Emory and Daryl had been given a room to their own just off the main living room...in what appeared to have once been used as a den. The first time they'd had their own space.

"How come you're always so warm," Emory was still half asleep and feeling dreamy. She slid even closer to him, sliding her bare leg up over his thigh. Up until now, this had been the extent of their intimacy. Only for lack of opportunity...not desire.

"Dunno. Why ya always shiverin'?" Daryl felt himself harden beneath her soft touch.

He felt Emory climb even closer until she was lying practically on top of him. She wrapped her arms around his chest. Her fingers slid beneath the thin fabric of his shirt and began stroking his flat abdomen.

It had become instantly laccepted within the group that Daryl and Emory were 'together'...'a couple' as much as 'Rick and Lori' and 'Glenn and Maggie'. In fact, the group accepted and accommodated their 'coupledom' way before Daryl and Emory even did.

To a person, they were all thrilled and happy that Emory and Daryl were together. They liked how the volatile redneck was so much more pleasant now...showing a heretofore hidden softer side. And Rick had found in Daryl, a trusted friend.

The downside was the fact that they'd never actually been 'together', sexually speaking. In spite of the fact that everyone else apparantly already assumed they had.

But now seemed the perfect time. Emory couldn't seem to get close enough to him, her entire body was practically vibrating with desire as she wrapped around him.

"I got ya," Daryl murmured softly into her ear as he held her even tighter, trying to envelope her and warm her with his own body heat. He slowly let his rough hands run under her clothes to glide over her soft skin. How could she smell so good and feel so soft?

Emory snuggled into his arms but couldn't stop herself from pressing hot, wet kisses against his clavicle, then his neck, then his Adam's apple. She languorously let her tongue lick over the taut skin of his throat, thrilled when she felt his hips buck slightly against her.

"Emory...Jeezus," Daryl moaned aloud as he gazed down at her curvy body.

Her tongue felt the pulse point on his neck thrum wildly and she laved the hot, pulsating spot. She was rewarded when Daryl abandoned his role of 'warmth giver' and threw his head back and moaned, his body trembling against his will.

Emory leaned over Daryl and let herself "see" him. The heat in his eyes told her far more than any words ever could that he wanted her. His eyes glowed a heated, warm purple in her mind, telling her he could be trusted... with her heart, at least for now. And that was the best anyone could hope for anymore.

She sighed into his mouth as she captured his lips with hers, rolling on top of him and straddling his hips so he could feel every inch of her. And she felt him proudly protruding up into her stomach.

Daryl turned his head to the side to try and gain some perspective. Christ, he'd wanted her for so long. But not like some drunken quickie which had been his only experience up until now.

He needed to be at least 'memorable' or 'matter' for her. Emory wasn't a niave virgin like Beth. She had experience. He hated feeling inadequate but her fingers were still trailing down his abdomen and it made him temporarily forget all his fears...to be honest, it made him forget practically everything.

Tonight it would happen. They finally had privacy...a few mere precious hours alone together before they both had to go back to the horror of running...and not running. Both choices could be equally terrifying.

Emory met Daryl's blue eyes with her own grey ones and all her doubts were reflected back at her... She pulled him down and did her best to tell him with her kiss all that she couldn't put into words. That she loved him, and had for a long time.

Daryl slid her thin T-shirt up, then over her head and tossed it aside. Then his hands went to her hips. A devilish twinkle gleamed in his eye when she shimmied out of her panties just to straddle his hips.

She leaned over him, letting her thinly covered breasts brush his chest. He thought she was leaning down to kiss him, but she slid past his lips to his ear.

"I want you!" Emory began pressing hot wet kisses along his ear, his jaw bone, then his throat.

"Christ Almighty Emory," Daryl groaned. He couldn't stand the torment a second longer. He rolled and threw her beneath him... instinctively settling comfortably between her thighs.

He leaned down to lick her taut pink nipples and he cupped her breasts. He felt her hot breath in her ear as he continued.

"Daryl...Emory... WAKE UP! We got us a herd! Gotta run NOW!" Glenn rapped loudly on the closed door knowing the impact of his words had the most impact.

"This isn't fair!" Emory groaned, petulantly throwing the nearest pillow at the door. She continued with the profanities drawn from frustration all the while dressing and tossing her few things into her backpack.

"Here, you go...you tease!" She casually tossed Daryl his crossbow. She never expected him to set it aside and pull her into his arms.

"I'm the tease?" Daryl raised a scarred eyebrow, then held her hand as he pressed her so she could feel for herself his firm and rock-hard erection.

"Just so ya know, I'm way more pissed about this than you are," Daryl kissed her lips lightly as he admitted to her.

"It helps...not much, but a little," Emory ran her forefinger down his bare muscular arms then pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek. Daryl felt himself begin to dissolve under her touch.

"Go On! Get outta here...yer too damn distractin! Same rules. Get yer ass to a car a stay safe." Daryl ordered as he threw his crossbow over his shoulder.

"And you get YER ASS to yer bike and stay SAFE," Emory leaned into his hard, muscular body and wrapped her hands around his neck. "I'm riding behind you when we clear this herd!"

He allowed himself a moment...this one moment where the warmth filled his veins and she threaded her fingers into his neck and her tongue tangled with his.

He loved her ...more than he ever thought possible to love anyone. He'd known from the start that caring about these assholes would be the death of him. Now he wasn't so sure...or maybe he figured she was worth it.

"No heroics this time! Ya HEAR Me!" Daryl kissed her again and then they both ran, grabbing supplies all the while, too accustomed to the routine by now.

Emory threw her pack plus two extra pillowcases stuffed with food and medicine they'd found into one of the newly acquired RV's which Glenn and Maggie drove.

Emory raced toward Daryl's motorcycle and hopped on, waiting expectantly for Daryl to show up any second.

The others were already in their vehicles and their brake lights brought home the fact that Daryl was still MIA. She still had time to run for it and ride with them. But then, she was faced with the same question so many loved ones had been faced with. To run...or face the worst.

"Daryl!" She scooted forward and gunned his bike engine. She refused to consider that she might have to leave him even though she could never picture doing so. Daryl! Get back here! She silently added to the universe, "I Love Him!"

"Scoot yer ass back! I don't ride bitch!" Daryl came racing out of the woods, clothes covered with guts and filth. He tossed his crossbow to her whilst he ran, which she caught rather expertly. Emory secured it quickly while also scooching back on the bike.

They drove off into the dim morning light, her strong slim arms around him, and he couldn't help but wonder what he'd done to deserve someone like her.


	11. Chapter 11-I Ain't No SuperHero

**Alert- smut. Teasing over**

* * *

Daryl pulled to a stop behind the others, long after the sun had broken through the fog. Daryl got off first then helped Emory whose legs were a bit wobbly from riding so long.

"Ya'alright?" Daryl ran comforting hands over her.

"I'm good," Emory let him steady her and she smiled up at him, then leaned up to kiss him. His eyes bugged out given that this was the first time since the highway that she'd kissed him in public.

Emory left Daryl in his surprised semi-shocked condition to go check on Lori who had been struggling greatly with her pregnancy. And Rick's cold behavior had done little to quell Lori's growing fears.

"Hey, how are you feelingl?" Emory slid into the passenger seat of the Hyundai they had elected to keep. They had the Hyundai, two small RVs and Daryl's bike. Not much contingency for running.

"I don't know how much longer I can take it...Emory," Lori bent over, threw up in the bushes then began to sob.

"I don't know if I even want to anymore. So many mistakes and so much discord would all just end with me," Lori's eyes tumbled with flowing tears and she collapsed against the car door.

"Christ, my own son can barely even look at me anymore." Lori continued. Emory thought Rick had made a few mistakes, but allowing his son to emulate his behavior and disrespect to his mother was tough for her to accept.

"You and Rick have shit to work out, no doubt about that! But, what about your baby? He or she is going to need you!" Emory stroked Lori's hand as if to transfer some of her own strength.

"Rick and Daryl are out hunting, why don't we both go down to that creek and get cleaned up," Emory suggested, encouraged by the renewed light in Lori's eyes.

The cold bath in the frigid water managed to lift Lori's spirits...that and the long talk with Emory. Afterwards they made their way to an old abandoned mill which was short on amenities but had a secure fence and a well for water. But the since the structure was so dilapidated they'd be sleeping in the RV's.

Lori was actually now feeling well enough to help with food, boiling water ...even folding laundry. And with Carol's help they'd managed to put together a pretty decent meal.

Rick was still treating Lori like a pariah, despite all she'd done to make amends. Emory sat beside Daryl at dinner grateful for the delicious stew of wild mushrooms, onions and best of all, rabbit...courtesy of Daryl. But Rick's coldness had been eating at the group for months now. Emory held her tongue yet watched and waited before she followed Rick off into the darkness.

"What the hell are you doing out here, Emory? I could have killed you!" Rick spun around on her, gun cocked ... the kindly sheriff long gone.

"And I could have killed you!" Emory had her Sig raised, instinct taking over. "Rick? Do you really have to ask? Its about Lori,"

"Me and Lori are none of yer business," Rick lowered his gun and ran a hand through his sweaty frock of hair. Emory lowered her gun as well.

"Rick? Are you kidding me? The days when you can try and work things out in private are long gone. We ALL live with your shit everyday! There is no such thing as a private matter anymore, in case you haven't noticed!" Emory hurled back at him. Rick at least had the humility to appear somewhat ashamed.

"Well, if you're so goddamn smart? What do you think I should do?" Rick spun around and glared at her,

"Most things in this shit aren't easy. But this one actually is. You gotta either forgive Lori... Or break up with her. No one will blame you. But this middle ground is dangerous. You have to decide, and let us all out of your drama! You've even got us picking sides and you know that isn't good for Carl...or the group," Emory explained pasionately. "I mean it would have been far better if you'd been honest back when Lori had safer options. Or hell, even been with Shane? If they were in love would that have been so awful?"

"You make it sound so easy," Rick collapsed against the nearest tree.

"Because it is. You can either forgive her or you can't. Everything else is just noise," Emory refused to let Rick off the hook, nor getting sucked into who did what to whom when.

"She won't even look at me," Rick tried to justify his own actions.

"And have you looked at her? Rick, if you can't handle that the baby might be Shane's then why didn't you just let her take the pills...or ask Hershel to 'abort it'? Yer hitherskither confusing bullshit has now risked her life'," Emory pulled no punches.

"I was so determined to do the right thing. I just wanted to believe so badly the baby was mine! But...Now! There's no doubt. That baby is Shane's!" Rick collapsed against Emory who immediately held him close and comforted him.

"Rick...you and Lori have been put in a situation nobody could or should ever have to navigate. Situations like this can magnify things or make them seem irrelevant or even impossible. But your wife, whom you knew was a high risk pregnancy, came to you afraid and told you the truth" Emory tried to sound like she wasn't judging.

"Christ...I thought I could forgive her...but I just can't. Every time I look at her, I see her and Shane..," Rick held his face in is hand as he sobbed.

"That's a load of horseshit...at least as far as Lori is concerned. I mean forgive her for what anyway? if she dies are you expected to be celibate forever? Were you a virgin when you and Lori married?" Emory asked which only got her a guilty look which said No.

"Was Lori?" She asked and again received the same look.

"So you could look past prior sexual encounters before but not now? After a friggin zimbie apocalypse you can't give your spouse and best friend any credit?" Emory pushed, her tone dripping with contempt.

"He was supposed to be my friend!" Rick cried out in anger, slamming his fist into a tree.

"Right! He was a really fuck awful terrible friend. When the world went to shit his first priority was to make sure his best friend's son and wife survived. And did his best to save you...nearly died while doing it." Emory reminded sarcastically.

"Now, YOU know I've never been 'Team Shane' but if you had died like everyone reasonably assumed happened, is there anyone else you would have trusted with Lori and Carl's life?" Emory turned Rick by the shoulders, forcing him to look at her.

Rick couldn't answer. But his eyes said he recognized the truth in her words.

"I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. I'm unfit to lead," Rick admitted before collapsing against the tree.

"That is not true Rick...you know exactly what you're doing. You've been keeping us all alive...and safe...and at great personal cost. And you've been doing a damn fine job of it, if I might add," Emory complimented him.

"But, for all of us, please try talking to her? Because she can't safely terminate the pregnancy anymore. And that's on you!" Emory placed a comforting hand on Rick's shoulder, encouraged when he placed his own rough hand over hers.

After a minute, Emory returned to the camp.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

"Rick ok?" Daryl waited awhile after he saw Emory return before he pulled Emory off to the side to ask. He hated feeling like a gossipy girl but the whole group from was feeling the weight of the tension.

"I'm not all that sure. I guess Rick figured he could handle the "idea" of Lori's pregnancy. But the reality? Not so much," Emory did her best to explain her talk with Rick.

With a sigh, she leaned back into Daryl's chiseled chest, his arms now sliding around her to clasp together at her waist as if it was the most natural thing in the world. These past few weeks, Daryl had become much more comfortable with touching..and hugging. He rarely flinched anymore unless she surprised him which she'd made a concerted effort not to do.

"Cain't be easy knowing that douche bag Shane knocked up your woman," Daryl mumbled as he thought about it. He'd never liked Shane and sure as shit didn't shed a tear after his death.

"Can't be easy getting pregnant with the best friend of your presumed dead husband and your now alive husband will barely look at you...," Emory pulled his rough hand up and kissed it. They both sat and contemplated the unfairness of it all.

"Are you very tired?" Emory spun around in his arms and laced her fingers at his neck. She watched Daryl struggle to swallow.

"Ummm not all that tired," Daryl managed to croak out. Emory leaned up and kissed him slowly, the tip of her tongue tantalizing him.

"Darn, I was kind of hoping you were tired and we could maybe go to bed ... together...in your tent," Emory slid her body closer so he could feel every curve of her body.

Daryl didn't even wait. He grabbed her hand and literally dragged her to his tent. The Grimes, Carol and T-Dog were sleeping in one RV and Glenn and the Greene's were sleeping in the other. It was just assumed by the group that Emory would sleep with Daryl in the only tent.

Emory suddenly felt like all her senses were electrified. She turned around just in time to watch Daryl finish zipping up the tent. God she wanted him so bad. And she was so damn tired of waiting...and being interrupted...and waiting some more. She prayed he was too.

She met his fierce eyes which somehow managed to glow despite the darkness. Before she could chicken out, she decided to go for broke.

She bent down to unlace and kick off her boots. She looked back up at him, encouraged by the hitch in his breath. While maintaining eye contact, she slowly unbuttoned her jeans, taking her time to shimmy out of them, finally kicking them to the side.

She boldly took a step forward, then reached her hands down to slide her t-shirt up and over her head. Since this decision was sort of a spur of the moment thing, she hadn't worn her best underthings. She stood before him in a pick lacy bra and kinda dorky green all cotton boy shorts. Oh God, she looked down at herself. This is SO NOT sexy!

Emory began to feel self-conscious and Daryl saw the moment the uncertainty hit her eyes. She was so unbelievably hot and sexy and he had been standing there like a stunned moron completely enjoying the show.

Daryl closed the small distance and wrapped his arms around her, his lips instantly finding her neck.

Daryl's jaw dropped as he looked down at her naked back...hating that her ribs were becoming more prominent. How could she not know what she did to him?

Daryl had no words ...but wished he had. Purely by instinct, he closed the distance so his front met her back. Both his hands gently cupped her hip bones, instantly lamenting the lack of soft extra flesh. In the back of his mind he committed to getting her more food...and not allowing her to divert it to Lori.

"Com'ere! Yer so gorgeous!" Daryl mumbled between gasps of breath. He pulled her hand to feel how hard he was, growing harder when she held him, loving how she gasped for breath.

"Yeah?" She asked, still hesitant but her hands had already began roaming his body.

"Fuck yeah!" Daryl shimmied out of his shirt, shocked when Emory fell to her knees, frantically yanking at his cargo pants until the fabric fell to the floor.

Before he could stop her she pulled his boxers down to join his trousers and took him fully in her mouth. She wasn't very experienced in blowjobs but had read enough Cosmo articles to know to use her lips and tongue, not her teeth.

In the back of her mind she registered Daryl groaning and felt his hips jerk under her ministrations. Slightly regaining her confidence, she glanced up at him and the heat in his eyes nearly fused her to the spot.

Daryl looked down at her and he'd never felt so amazing. She was so gorgeous and she was going down on him? Sure, he'd had blowjobs before. In fact, his first had been on his 18th birthday, paid for by Merle. But this was so far beyond that. With every electric swipe of her tongue he imagined doing likewise to her.

Daryl finally garnered the strength to stop her and hauled her up by her arms, confused by the look of hurt in her eyes.

"What? Did I do something wrong!" Daryl scooped her up and laid her on their bedding.

"You are perfect. But now its my turn," Daryl felt emboldened and ripped her unattractive green boy shorts right off. He'd never done this to anyone so hoped all Merle's porn had some educational benefit.

"They were hideous huh?" She smile and kissed him, gripping his shoulders tightly. Daryl kissed her back then slid lower. He expertly kissed her taut nipples, her belly button, then both her hip bones.

She felt his tongue lave the very core of her...over and over ...making her instinctively tighten. When he accidentally ran his tongue slightly higher over the swollen flesh, he felt her buck beneath him. Ever observant, he continued, intrigued by the newly discovered nub of swollen flesh that responded so perfectly beneath his tongue.

Emory had never had an orgasm during sex before ...only with her vibrator. But her entire body felt electrified as if she would ignite any second.

She couldn't take it. Her entire body was writhing beneath him...and she needed him. She yearned for more yet not sure quite what. She yanked at his hair to pull him up. Her lips sought his as her body craved more.

She tasted herself on him but it only excited her more. She reached over for the condom and ripped it open with her teeth and eagerly reached for him to slide it on.

Since placing a condom on that banana back in high school she'd never actually put a condom on a man before. Despite her lack of experience he still twitched and thrust in her hands.

Daryl could barely think, all of his senses were so thoroughly assaulted. He paused to look down at her gorgeous flushed face. She wasn't lying. She wanted him...Daryl Dixon.

He couldn't stop himself. He plunged into her and her body arched up into him, finally becoming one. Her nails dug into his back, leaving red striations as pleasure overtook.

"God... You feel so good," Emory nuzzled his neck as her body accepted him and began moving forward.

"Christ Em," Daryl stilled as he propped himself over her and let himself savor the moment. He felt her tighten her 'lady' muscles around him and it took every ounce of control not to cum right then.

"Stop it." He kissed her slowly. "At least give me a chance to last more'n a minute," he whispered into her ear.

"I want you!" She brazenly bit his earlobe then her hips began writhing under him.

Daryl had never been with anyone so perfectly good and so amazingly naughty at the same time.

"Too bad...I waited too damn long for this. I plan on taking take my time," Daryl gripped her hips so he could set the pace. He thrust oh so slowly at just the right angle that it made her eyes go all googly.

He felt her nails rake over his back, and over his scars and for the first time he forgot about them. She made him forget about them.

"I don't wanna hurt ya?" He murmured at her neck.

"You won't...unless you think about stopping," she turned to look up at him.

Daryl couldn't stop.

"So good. Ya outta be illegal!" Daryl thrust again and again.

"I wanna see," Daryl felt embarrassed but he still admitted it to her as he started to thrust slower and harder.

"What?" Emory could barely swallow with him looking so intently at her.

"You! I want ta see you!" Daryl grabbed her ankles so he could thread them around his shoulders.

"I'm so close... Please don't stop!" Emory raked her nails down his back.

"Tell me... Tell me what you want!" Daryl thrusted slowly as he continued pushing into her.

"I want YOU!" Emory trembled and convulsed, her entire being trembling with euphoria.

Daryl felt her pulse around him and the look of such pure joy on her face was more than he could handle. He let himself release and thrust wildly into her. On his last tremor he released her ankles.

As they lay there in exhausted silence Daryl felt all his old insecurities start to creep back in..

"So...was it...ya know...ok?" Daryl regretted asking the moment the words left his mouth.

Emory took a moment to compose herself before formulating an answer. Daryl was still lying naked on top of her and she lazily let her nails lightly graze up and down his ass.

"If I tell you the truth, you'll just get a big head. How 'bout I give you a ...Meh. Just so you stay on your toes?" Emory teased him.

"Meh? That was Meh?" Daryl loved a challenge more than anything. And one thing he'd learned from Merle's porno's was that men needed time to recover... But women didn't. Before Emory knew what was happening, he threw her on her back, spreading her thighs wide.

"Daryl Dixon. What the...?"

He instantly started licking and sucking and licking and sucking and soon her hips gyrated beneath him.

"I wantcha to cum in my mouth!" He kept up, loving the feel of her nails in his scalp and his shoulders.

"Christ...Daryl...please..." Emory orgasmed again with Daryl's tongue.

"Meh?" Daryl asked, a very cocky grin on his face.

"Fine! That was so way better than Meh. Maybe I should return the favor," Emory took the liberty to slide her hand over his hard ass then up his back.

"Go ta sleep Woman! I ain't no superhero," Daryl chuckled, pulling her naked form into his, his rough thumb stroking her hand.

"Daryl?" Emory knew she had to choose her words carefully. "Yea...ya kinda are!"

"Come 'ere. No shiverin'," Daryl relaxed and threw the blankets over them both, feeling better than he'd ever had.

"No shivering!" Emory curled into his body, their naked parts intertwined. And they both slept peacefully.

-/-/:/-/:/-


	12. Chapter 12-Today Was A Good Day

**A/N: Thanks all to those reading, faving, following and especially reviewing. This is mostly fluffy smut light that gets us to the prison.**

* * *

Emory looked up at the emerging spring foliage and couldn't help but feel despondent that they were once again stuck on the side of the road. Rick had the tattered map spread out on the Hyundai hood and Glenn was pointing out the location of the most recent herd, hoping to figure out a pathway through so they could make it through the Great Smoky Mountains. They figured the numbers had to be smaller on the other side...they simply had to. But then T-Dog was constantly suggesting they make a run for the ocean and damned if that wasn't sounding better and better to Emory. Snatch a yacht...sail to an island. At least the only walkers they'd need to worry about would be each other.

Food and resources had dwindled drastically over winter ...ever since that amazing night between her and Daryl. God, was that really just a few months ago? she groaned. But lately Emory had started to notice that the more her ribs protruded, the pissier and more withdrawn Daryl became. It didn't seem to matter that it wasn't his fault. Or how much she needed him. She was left to stand by helplessly and watch as he left yet again to go off hunting with Rick. The only bright spot was that with the inklings of spring, they just might stand a chance of actually catching something.

"He needs to do this Em," Carol pulled a reluctant Emory along. "Let him go, we'll go rinse off."

"He's pulling away. I can feel it ...as sure as I can the pull of gravity," Emory lamented. It had been nearly two weeks since they'd even slept together. Daryl always seemed to take first watch at night, crawling in beside her long after she'd fallen asleep.

"Everyone is. It's like death is knocking at our door and the harder we run the louder it seems to knock," Carol tried to console her friend.

"How's Lori doing today?" Emory needed to focus on something other than the distance between her and Daryl.

"No surprise that she was a cop's wife because that woman is stronger than I ever knew. Its just that...if we don't get her someplace safe and soon... I really don't what will happen," Carol admitted as they both approached the Hyundai where Lori sat, stoically staring out of the window. As if she had already accepted her fate.

They both helped Lori to the icy cold stream, and they forced themselves to enter and bathe, even taking extra time to wash Lori's long hair. After a while, Lori even managed to relax in the icy water, luxuriating in the buoyancy and the relief it provided to her back and hips.

"When I was pregnant with Sophia I practically lived in the pool the last month. God, I can still remember how good it felt," Carol remembered fondly, a smile tilting the corners of her lips.

"At first, I wasn't sure I could get in this freezing water. But now...ahh it feels so amazing. Thank you both," Lori knew they had both taken it upon themselves to fill the support gap left oh so vacant by Rick.

"I mean it. For everything. And I also know you've both been giving me your food. You need to stop it," Lori insisted.

"Hey enough of that. Us women have to stick together. Its always been the way," Carol assured Lori, lathering up the sudsy mass of Lori's hair.

"But today, I do not miss having long hair," Carol chuckled as she took the time to gently untangle a particularly bad snarl.

"You never did tell us. Why did you have your hair so short when we first met?" Emory asked as she dunked herself under and rinsed her own hair. The icy cold making her gasp as she came up for air.

"It was about six months before all this started. Ed came home a bit early from work which should have been my first clue that was drunk and mean. He was so furiously angry that I thought he was going to stab me. I didn't know that earlier in the morning Ed watched me from a barstool across the street of our grocer. Apparently, rather than working, he and his buddies decided to hit the bar. He interpreted my smile of thanks to the grocer for our roast as me flirting. So when he got home he beat me and then he cut my hair. I figured if I shaved it the rest of the way he could never accuse me of flirting again, ergo not getting hit again. Of course that was just me rationalizing his behavior. He always found another reason to beat me," Carol bit her lip at her pathetic stupidity and weakness. She would never put up with that now. So why had she then?

"But now...to hear me even say it out loud. I do know how pathetic it sounds," Carol looked away in shame.

"Hey, none of that. Its just, I don't get it. Why didn't you just take Sophia and leave him?" Emory had always wondered but had been too afraid to ask. The strong Carol she knew today would never tolerate being treated the way did.

"I was so young and stupid and my self-esteem was in the toilet when I met Ed. In himdsight I can see that was why he picked me. Before I knew how it happened I was afraid all the time. Of course, that was before I knew what real fear was...or that I was strong enough to face it. Back then my biggest fears were that I would screw up and give Ed reason to hit me...or that people would find out that Ed hit me...or that I was the kind of woman to let a man beat me...or that I might not be able to take care of Sophia...or that I might lose Sophia to Ed because I was an unfit mother. Oh, that was Ed's personal favorite," Carol's lips narrowed into a flat line.

"And Ed was so expert at reinforcing those fears and manipulating me. He threatened to kill me, my parents...but it wasn't until he started looking at my Sophia that I knew that there was nothing more terrifying than staying," Carol knew what real fear was then...and later lying on the side of the road staring at her baby girl while that herd of walkers trampled around them. Ed's beatings were merely training wheels.

"I went to a women's shelter a week before the virus started and they helped me devise an escape plan. I knew he was paranoid and had all these supplies. So when moved to the next level, my plan was to rob him...just drive off with all the supplies. But one thing led to another..,,," Carol finished. They all knew the rest.

"I'm so sorry Carol. You deserved better," Emory hugged Carol tightly.

"No! No I didn't!" Carol pushed firmly away and vehemently shook her head, gazing down into the clear swirls of water.

"I only deserved what I was willing to accept. I should never have accepted what Ed did to me, but I did. So I did deserve it. Everything he did to me after that first beating is on me," Carol's eyes glowed bright with determination.

"I taught Ed it was ok to treat me like that. I mean, he didn't beat on his boss or the neighbors or Shane or the Dixons or you Emory? Rght? Just me," Carol had obviously thought long and hard on this.

"Ed was an asshole and that you stayed makes you a victim. He's still the perpetrator," Emory spat into the water. She recognized the wisdom in Carol's words but still, it was Ed's fault.

"He was a giant asshole...so why don't we talk about something more pleasant. Like the smell of putrid walker flesh," Carol managed to joke.

"Lets talk about sex...Emory?" Lori prompted, actually cracking a smile. "Since I'm not having any and unless Carol and T-Dog or Hershel have been sneaking off, its just you and Maggie that are getting any these days."

"What about Carl and Beth?" Emory felt guilty for tormenting Lori, but Carl's blatant crush on Beth was too perfect.

"Not funny Emory," Lory smirked as she shook her head as if to wipe the mental image from her mind.

"Come on Emory, give us something, Throw us a bone," Carol begged.

"I'm afraid we're all gonna have to go to Maggie.." Emory turned away, not so much embarrassed as just profoundly sad. She missed sex, but mostly she missed Daryl.

"Oh please, I happened to be taking a late evening walk by your and Daryl's tent a few weeks ago," Lori often had to get up and move about late at night. "Damn near got me pregnant all over again."

"Funny...very funny! But that was likely the last time," Emory sighed with a sad, forlorn expression on her face as she remembered the old fish camp.

"A whole two weeks? My Lord, how ever have you managed?" Carol pretended shock...and mock horror.

"Ha Ha! You're a laugh riot," Emory snarked back as she continued to wash her arms with the bath wash. But realizing at the same time, all things considered, she was very lucky.

"So then two weeks ago?" Lori pushed, enjoying the way Emory's skin flushed bright red.

"Well...when it happens its like...electricity. I feel a zing in my belly every time I look at him and he looks back at me. He notices everything. You'd think he'd be rough, but his hands are so amazingly tender. I want him even now, just thinking of him," Emory nearly moaned, as if coming out of a trance.

"You're so lucky," Lori lamented. She couldn't remember the last time she and Rick were like that. In fact, her first instinct was Shane.

"What about you and Rick?" Emory wondered how a true love could just die. She'd never loved a man like she loved Daryl Dixon and she couldn't imagine ever not loving him...which was why this distance hurt so badly. The scary thing was, didn't nearly every couple feel like that at one time?

"Things weren't very good even before he was shot. We were struggling. I guess I had so many dreams and plans once. Then I met Rick and I mean, come on? He was ...like he is now, except younger. Dazzled me. Then I got pregnant. We were so young but Rick did the right thing. Nothing feels worse than being someone's 'right thing to do'. It wasn't fair, but the harder he tried, the more I felt like his 'project'...his noble obligation." Lori wiped a tear from her eye.

"Lori? Have you thought about telling this to Rick? Whatever happens, you know we'll take care of you," Emory promised.

"And so will Rick...and yet again, I'll be his obligation," Lori sighed, feeling defeated.

"Only if you allow it. Talk to him...on your terms. he has a role in this situation too. Maybe its like Carol said. We deserve what we're willing to accept." Emory pressed.

Lori seemed to think hard on Emory's words...letting the impact sinking in.

"Maybe we should get going before the boys come looking for us and get an eyeful," Carol helped Lori ease up out of the water and they all dried off and dressed.

When they finally made their way up the embankment, Rick and Daryl were already back from an unsuccessful hunting trip. But Rick had a determined glint in his eye and Daryl had a cautious look to his.

"Ya'll...I think we just mighta found the place we've been looking for," Rick could barely restrain his optimism.

-/-/-/-/-

"A prison? Do you really think we can do this?" Emory reached instinctively for Daryl's hand as she looked out at the over run prison from behind the fence.

"Rick does...so yea. Ain't gonna be easy...but its the best thing we come across in months," Daryl muttered then threaded his fingers with hers, answering honestly. He loved being able to be himself with her and tell her the truth...be able to voice his doubts. With the others he would have felt obligated to sound more positive this was the right thing..

"Ok...then I guess we'd better do this..." Emory leaned her head on Daryl's shoulder, comforted when his hand came up to slowly stroke her hair. He felt the remaining dampness and the silkiness from her recent shampooing and couldn't resist pressing his nose to her.

"Ya smell nice," Daryl murmured, starting to feel a sense of optimism.

"Maybe you should have come with me, while I...what did you call it? Washing my panties?," her eyes crinkled at the corners before she leaned up to kiss him. She felt his arms pull her close and she felt all was right in the world...in that moment.

Emory looked out over the walker infested prison and it kept reminding her of those times she'd turned over a rotting log, and suddenly all the exhausted, gaunt faces around her and prayed. She didn't pray often or was sure she believed in anything anymore. But today she prayed.

And so they went to work to take the prison yard.

-/:/::-/-/:/:;/-/

"Em? Take this to Daryl?" Carol had to learned the best time to slip extra food for Daryl was when he ate without seeing the others' plates. Emory also routinely slipped him some of her food but did her best to be sly since he'd be pissed if he found out.

But today had been a big win. They'd actually managed to secure the perimeter of the prison. It had cost them a shitload of ammo but the entire yard was now secure. For the first time since the Greene's farm they had the freedom to run around a field.

"Thanks," Emory gave Carol a quick hug before she hurried off with the bowl. It wasn't much but Carol pulled out all the stops in light of today's success, Velveeta shells'n'cheese with some canned tuna fish stirred in. Everyone gobbled it up as if it were a cordon bleu meal, savoring each bite.

Daryl was standing watch up on the overturned truck, inhaling a cigarette and staring off into the distance. She slowly climbed up the truck to reach him.

"Hey you...I brought you something. I know you won't eat if I don't," she scolded as Daryl simultaneously reached down and hauled Emory up with one hand and accepted the bowl with his other. Emory stood close and stared off into the darkness, tuning out the constant droning of the moans, while Daryl inhaled his food.

"Lil Shane's got quite the appetite," Daryl snarked, mostly because he felt guilty he was eating and Emory wasn't. He loved the soft curves of her body but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't noticed they hadn't become sharper these past few months...and that was on him.

"Stop it. She's pregnant and needs the food. So do you," Emory clucked disapprovingly.

"Yeah? What about you? Where'd this go?" He slipped his hand down to cup her ass.

"Are you complainin' Dixon?" Emory spun into his arms, fingering the worn fabric of his leather vest.

"Ya know I ain't!" Daryl huffed in concession, gratefully licking the remnants from his fingers.

"Ya doing ok? Ya did a lotta fightin' today," Daryl pulled her close, his fingers gently massaging her tight shoulders.

"Yea I'm fine... But I wouldn't pass up some more physical therapy," Emory turned her face up to meet his eyes. Daryl frowned and his words stuck in his throat.

"Unless you have early watch again tonight?" Emory turned away, refusing to beg. She knew it was ridiculous to think about things such as pride anymore but human nature is what it is, frequently defying logic.

"Ain't got watch," Daryl mumbled as he stared at her back, spine straight and obviously hurting. And he realized he'd hurt her...had been hurting her. He'd been so focused on trying to figure something out...a way to better provide for her, that it never occurred to him that she thought he didn't want her.

"Hey, come back here," he pulled her back into his arms to settle her back against his chest, his arms safely around her. He breathed in her scent. This was happiness. His woman, here in his arms ...safe...fed. The rest would come. He had to hope this would be enough.

Emory sighed then cradled his rough hand to bring it to her lips, pressing soft wet kisses on his knuckles...then his palm. To his shock she took his forefinger into her mouth and slowly sucked it, but not the way he had mere moments ago. His dick shot to attention, straining furiously against the fabric of his trousers.

"Come to bed soon?" she forced herself to pull away then she tossed her freshly washed hair over her shoulder... giving him one last 'come hither' glance before climbing back down the underbelly of the truck and hopping to the ground.

Daryl did his best to stay focused as he continued the rest of his watch shift. It was a half hour before T-Dog finally came to relieve him, but Damn if it didn't feel like hours.

He sauntered across the dark field towards the small fire just in time to catch Beth, Maggie and Emory singing some old Irish songs. If they weren't old country or southern rock he'd never heard it, but they sounded awful pretty and it seemed to put a smile one everyone's face. Everyone except Rick's.

"Come on...its late," Daryl held out a hand to pull her to her feet. He'd enjoyed the singing, but had been unable to think of anything other than Emory since she climbed off that truck.

"Yea, suppose it is," Emory stood and threaded her fingers with his. She let him lead her to their sleeping bags which were set further away from the fire, ignoring the looks from the others.

"Why not set up the tent?" Emory asked, suddenly craving privacy.

"Ya heard Rick. We're getting up and headin' out at first light. No time for us to be settin' up and tearin' down tents," Daryl looked down and kicked at the dirt, wishing he could go get the tent without making a big scene. Wishing he could articulate why he'd been taking watch rather than being in their bed. "Their bed". He still couldn't get over that.

"Fine! Whatever, sleeping under the stars can be romantic if we just tune out the drooling freaks at the fence. But this simply will not do!" the heat in her eyes made him warm.

He watched her efficiently and with a bit of an annoyed huff, unzip the two sleeping bags he'd casually tossed on the ground. Then she deftly re-zipped them back together into one large sleeping bag.

Emory suddenly felt weird...and anxious? For a while they'd made love nearly nightly...now? She was feeling like it was the first time. Or makeup sex, except she forgot having a fight.

Nonetheless butterflies were now doing the tango in her tummy and she was left wordless. So she plopped down on the bag and began simply unlacing her boots and getting ready for bed...Daryl paused, then he did the same.

"I'm going to assume you want zipper side?" Emory knew he would never be able to sleep without being able slip free. She crawled into the bag without looking at him, hating the awkwardness between them.

Daryl hated how he'd messed things up. She was the best thing that had EVER happened to him. He couldn't fuck it up over stupid shit. He wanted to fix it but just didn't know how. His first instinct was to go hunt...bring her back some food. But was that what she wanted? If she'd been giving her food away?

Daryl crawled in beside her and relaxed and realized that this was 'home'. At first he promised he'd just rest his hands on her waist...then her hip...then her thigh. But then he couldn't stop himself and began gently runninh his hands over her body. But every bony hip and rib he took as a personal afront.

"Em...I'm... sorry," Daryl whispered into her ear, pulling her hair away from her neck. He was surprised when she rolled over to look up at him.

"Did it hurt?" Emory asked with an exaggerated look of concern. But it was the twinkle shining silver in the moonlight which let him knew he was on the right track.

"It did ...a little. But maybe you can make it better?" Daryl threw out a tentative attempt at flirtatious banter. Emory knew this was hard for him so she decided to help him out. She tilted her neck up and kissed his ear, then his jaw, then the corner of his lips.

"I am so very inclined to," Emory kissed him again, her breath warm and damp in his ear.

"But, I guess I just need to know if you foresee any routine nightly commitments that will conflict with your "therapy"?" Emory tried to mask her hurt over the past weeks with innuendo and sexuality.

"Em...I ain't gonna run away again. I promise ya, I won't. Its just that I saw ya witherin' away ...,day in and day out ...right in fron' a me and it was like another cold whip from my daddy sayin' I cain't even feed the woman I ...," Daryl couldn't finish but his unsaid words had already brought tears to Emory's eyes.

"I want ya ta start eatin' more though... and ya gotta stop givin' yer share of food away, ya promise me," Daryl insisted. Emory looked up into his blue eyes and knew she'd tell him anything.

"I will. I promise...," Emory kissed his neck in that place she knew he loved.

"And when I start catching you'll eat ten times a day and get nice and fat," Daryl teased her. But that only got him a play punch to the shoulder.

"What? And have to wear Lori's maternity jeans because I can't even fit into yours? That would be so sexy!" Emory rolled her eyes, but so happy to feel the air clearing between them. She hated how lost she'd felt these past weeks ...like she was missing a piece of herself.

"Come 'ere," Daryl told her he loved her in his mind ... where it was still safe.

She felt his hands on her body and it lit her on fire. She literally craved his touch and had missed him so desperately. She couldn't ever imagine not loving him...or for him to ever feel like a duty...an obligation, the way Lori had spoken about her relationship with Rick. But Lori and Rick hadn't started that way. It had been sex and fun. So would Daryl one day feel like that about her? Emory's goal was to live long enough to learn the answer.

In light of that thought, her hands greedily roamed his chest, the faint welts and scars no longer a barrier between them. He no longer flinched under her touch...he relaxed and now craved and yearned for every touch.

"Damn woman...you know we cain't," Daryl groaned while his throbbing erection said different.

"We can if you can be quiet. Can you be quiet?" She taunted him, all the while she continued to kiss him and tease him with her tongue. She reached for his straining dick and slowly stroked. He groaned and he thrust his hips into her hand.

"Ahhh Emmm," he kissed her neck, lighting her afire.

"Now that wasn't very quiet," she play scolded while her hand moved a bit faster.

"I was going to do something else but I'm not convinced you can be quiet," Emory whispered in his ear and then kissed his moan, effectively silencing him. Then she tucked her head under the covers and took him into her mouth.

Daryl had to bite down on his forearm to stay quiet and far sooner than he would have liked he convulsed his pleasure into her mouth. With a satisfied smirk her head popped back up to lay her head on his shoulder.

"And I want to feel you beneath me," Daryl insisted, and turned to lay half on top of her. While he felt amazingly satisfied he refused to fall asleep until she was as well. His hands reached for her pants.

"Shhhhh," she pushed his hands away. "You know we can't go that far. Sometimes its just for you," Emory kissed his cheek, her breath sweet in his ear.

"Yeah...sometimes. But that ain't tonight. Now kiss me, ya tease, so ya don't wake the while damn camp," Daryl slipped one finger into her while his thumb expertly stroked her swollen nub.

"You're a bad bad man, Daryl Dixon," Emory moaned before she bit his earlobe but then she panted for more of his wickedness.

"Yeah...ya want me ta stop?" he paused just to make this moment last.

"I'll strangle you while you sleep if you even think of stopping," Emory let her tongue slowly trace the outline of his ear.

"I ain't the one that's bad Gerl," he stroked her until she panted and her thighs tightened around his wrist. He wanted to finish her with...well he wanted to do many things but this would have to do...for now.

"Don't close your eyes. I love to see you," Daryl swallowed as she looked up at him, as if he was her everything. And she made him want to be better than he was.

When she trembled on his hand moments later, he kissed and swallowed her moans of pleasure. Soon, he wrapped her in his arms and they both slept peacefully. Today was a good day.

-/-:-/- 


	13. Chapter 13 -Are You Fricken Kidding Me

Emory actually manages to wake up before Daryl the next morning. She was tempted to trace the lines of his face, enchanted by how young he looked while asleep. She forced herself to sneak out and it was a bit of a treat for her to bring him a hot cup of coffee...just like he liked, black and strong.

"Good morning Dixon," Emory smiled and kneeled down close before kissing him quickly. She handed him the mug before he could get too embarrassed but still he looked around to see if anyone was watching.

"Its ok, the others are still asleep," Emory assured him.

"Yeah?" He asked as his still sleepy eyes darted side to side just to make sure. His hair was mussed and he looked almost child like.

"You do know they know about us, don't you?" Emory teased, then pressed her lips to his as if to cement her point.

"Don't mean we gotta give em a free peep show neither," Daryl blushed yet still held her close

"Are you embarrassed...or ... something? To be with me?" Emory frowned and her words came out clipped and laced with hurt. Her stomach did somersaults and she actually felt a tad nauseous as it dawned on her just how uncertain she still was of Daryl's feelings for her. Why did it always feel like it was one step forward then two steps back? She was so tempted to shut down, like she did when working a job.

"Shut up. Ya know I ain't ashamed of ya. Jeezus, yer so many leagues above me it ain't even funny. Everyday I wait for Rick er T ta beat on me fer having the balls ta even look atchya," Daryl bowed his head and admitted. Even worse, Emory could see he really believed it.

"Daryl? Ya do know the world went to shit right? That kind of bullshit social nonsense is long dead and gone?" Emory traced her fingertips along his muscular forearm.

"Things like that don't just go away overnight," Daryl tried to explain... help her understand.

"You know how I feel, yeh?" Emory kissed him again.

Daryl couldn't swallow, so he just let the intense feelings wash over and soothe him.

"Do you not want the others to know we're ... Whatever we are," Emory straightened her spine and leaned back on her heels, starting to actually feel a little ashamed. Like she was rushing him...or worse, manipulating him.

"Are you crazy? I jus' don't want them ta think YER trash cuz yer with me," Daryl mumbled, his head turning away from her. "Don't gotta throw it in their face is all I'm sayin'."

"You really don't have a very high opinion of our friends?" Emory traced his neck and continued. "Or yourself."

"And if anyone did actually think that, do you really think I'd give a rat's ass what someone like that thought of me?" Emory looked up at him so he could see her sincerity.

"Kiss me right now, Dixon! Here and now! In front of God and everyone." Emory suggested, unsure if he would step up.

Daryl stared back at her and he knew full well this was about much more than a kiss. He'd hurt her but hadn't meant to. But looking into her silvers eyes he felt captured...but not in a trapped way. More of a cocoon.

Without a moment's doubt, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, threading his fingers through her silky long hair...and he no longer cared who saw. He felt too lucky. A part of him believed a Dixon could never be this happy.

Pressing on into the prison meant they would have to go in hand to hand and clear out the walkers. Sure, they'd cleared buildings before...plenty of them over the winter and they'd actually become rather skilled at it. But those had mostly been small grocery stores, zippy marts, gas stations and houses. Not an entire prison. Some even wore armor.

Emory was even more pissed when she showed up to join the team, only to discover that Rick made the decision to leave her behind...ostensibly so that she could stay with Lori and the others.

Rick insisted it was because he needed somebody good with guns to stay back to defend the others. While his reasoning sounded rational it still rankled.

What Emory didn't know was that Rick left out the part about Daryl's late night request to keep her off the front team. With all Daryl had done for his family, it had been an easy favor for Rick to grant. And he did feel better knowing that if anything happened to him and the others, Emory would take charge and protect them.

Emory also had to admit to herself that she'd been feeling a bit peaked lately. She was forced to accept the simple fact that constant hunger and exhaustion were finally be catching up with her. She promised herself she would actually listen to Daryl from now on and start eating her rations, now that they had a safe place. A sanctuary!

She knew she'd be no good to anyone if she let herself get sick just because she was trying to take care of others.

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"Oh my God! Just you five cleared all this! I am beyond impressed" Emory raced forward and joined the others in congratulating Rick, Glenn, Daryl, T-Dog and Maggie for clearing the entire C cell block. The prison block was gray and dismal but she'd never seen anything as beautiful.

Emory also couldn't help but miss that Rick, yet again, brushed off Lori's advances and gesture of thanks. It was as if he and Emory's conversation had never even taken place. Emory swallowed her disappointment and watched Rick bow his head and march out of the cell block...leaving Lori to stare forlornly at her husband's back

Emory looked around the prison. There were two stories of cells, which the others had cleared of the dead, a sort of anti-chamber which she figured was where the prisoners spent much of their time. It would make a nice living and eating area for them.

Emory finally saw Daryl standing still at the stairwell landing. Emory stood still for a moment just to stare up at him. Eventually, Emory took a deep cleansing breath and re-hitched her backpack over her shoulder before climbing the stairs to join him.

"So where do you want to stay?" Emory sidled next to him while the others all scurried around and selected their own cells.

"Ain't crazy 'bout sleepin' in no cage," he blurted out, eyeballing the perch.

"Not much privacy there?" Emory pointed out but then she suddenly realized it was only her assumption that she'd be sleeping with him. That any privacy would even be necessary. What if it was more likely that he was just looking forward to having his own space for a bit...now that they'd found safety and semi-security.

"Oh ok, uhm, I'm just going to go up. Pick out my room. Um ok...I guess I'll see ya later," Emory quickly finished. She readjusted her backpack again and headed up the stairs, leaving Daryl standing alone on the perch. Her face was burning with humiliation but it was her aching heart that hurt the worst. She slowly started examining the prison cells, debating which one she wanted. The others seemed to gravitate towards the cells downstairs.

Daryl frowned and he watched Emory walk away up the stairs as he stood still trying to figure out what the hell he'd just done. He bit his thumbnail as he thought, and it slowly started to dawn on him. Did Em actually think he was planning on sleeping on that perch alone. As if! He bounded up the stairs two at a time to catch up with her.

"Come 'ere," he pulled her hand and dragged her quickly to the furthest cell, figuring it would give them the most privacy. He pulled her pack off her shoulder and threw his things to the floor. Finally he stood still and began looking around, sizing up the space.

"Daryl, stop it! I'll be just fine in here. Go on. Take that spot on the perch," she picked up his bag and gently handed it to him, using her body to urge him out of the cell, before she could change her mind.

Emory smiled kindly yet her eyes glowed with damp, unshed tears. Still, she raised her chin high. She refused to ask him to stay with her. Truth was, she really didn't want him to...not if he would rather be by himself, now that they'd found this place. She was just grateful he'd cared for her this long. But before she fell for him even more than she had, she needed to know what he wanted.

Emory couldn't help but wonder if that was why he'd protected and stayed with her these past months on the road. He was a good, kind man. It was part of why she loved him. But while kind, it wasn't even close to what she really wanted from him.

"Ya listen to me, Em, ya hear!" Daryl gripped her upper arms. "Wherever you sleep, that's where I'm gonna be. That's all there is ta say on the matter!" Daryl tossed his bag back onto the bottom cot next to hers. Then he stormed out of the cell. He soon returned with extra mattresses from the next cell.

Seeing the doubt and hurt still on her face bothered him. Instinctively he reached for her, his arms enveloping her.

"Stop it, Daryl. We are safe here. You don't have to put yourself out if you aren't comfortable sleeping in here. I don't want you stay. I won't let you! Not if y..." Emory tried to finish but Daryl pulled her into his arms and kissed her...his lips almost instantly making her forget what she'd been saying. Almost.

"We could sleep outside? We still have the tent. Hell, we have the RVs," Emory reminded him, twining her fingers into his. She fingered the sexy callouses and knew she was his. Would always be.

"No fuckin' way! I didn't bust my ass to clear this place out just to put you at risk by sleeping outside," Daryl scoffed.

"I'll be with you, so I wouldn't call that being at risk," Emory smiled up at him, feeling utterly safe in his arms.

"Funny," Daryl snarked as he tried to shrug off her compliment but she always somehow manage to make him feel 10-ft tall. And if he was honest, he loved it.

"I'ma pull these bunks apart. Then I can make us up a decent bed," Daryl immediately began visualizing a room...not a 'cell'. Without asking her, Daryl immediately began pulling the bunk apart.

"Daryl just stop it. Look at me!" Emory stilled him with her hands. "Look at me!" And Daryl finally paused.

"Just look at me. What do YOU want? Whatever it is we'll make it work. We can sleep on the lawn, or the tower or the damn car. Whatever you want!" Emory held his hands, her silver eyes searching his.

Daryl looked down and he was visibly uncomfortable at being put on the spot.

"You...just you!" Daryl finally mumbled and Emory's heart melted. She leaned over and gently kissed his lips and together they worked to build themselves a comfortable double bed.

Emory continued nesting and hung up some sheets and blankets over the bars to try and disguise them...to hopefully make it feel more like curtains and less like a cage. She even set out some photos and books. She wished she had something of Daryl.

"Daryl are you sure? I'm serious, you don't have to stay in here," Emory hated feeling like she was manipulating him.

"I'm even more serious! Come here," Daryl plopped onto the new cushy bed and pulled her on top of him.

"I'm exactly where I wanna be," Daryl's hand glanced up and down her back. "Where I'm gonna be. Where I want ya ta be," he cupped her ass so she could feel just how 'pleased' he was to be there...with her on top of him.

"That was really good Dixon! Perfect actually," she grinned down into his utterly serious face. "You are really getting the hang of saying just the perfect thing!"

She bent down and her lips met his and Daryl grabbed her hair and jerked her closer while their tongues teased and promised more. Soon they were lost in each other...that was up until Beth stuck her head into their cell/suite.

"Oh my Gosh..." Beth gasped and Daryl and Emory instantly jumped apart, both scrambling to get up. Daryl turned to his side so Beth couldn't see the tell-tale bulge in his pants.

"I'm so so sorry you guys. Its just that Carol sent me to tell everyone dinner was ready," Beth finally managed to stammer out.

"Thank you Beth. We'll be right down!" Emory smiled congenially. After she heard Beth descend the stairs, Emory burst into gales of laughter, falling back onto the bed beside him. Daryl couldn't help but finally join in with her, loving the feeling of 'laughter' with her. Just being connected to her. His Em.

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The first thing the next morning, Rick insisted on getting the team together to go and clear the rest of the cell block, in hopes of finding more resources. Hopefully to find the prison's food stores. And once again, to Emory's frustration she was left behind. Rick actually selected Hershel to join the team instead of her, and that rankled Emory something fierce. In fact, she was still stewing on it.

"They've been gone a really long time. They should have been back by now don't you think?" Emory couldn't hide her anxiety as she and Carol continued scrubbing and organizing the cell block. She still couldn't fathom why Rick selected Hershel to go with them today to clear out the rest of the block... rather than her. This was just stupid and risky.

"I know. I'm worried too," Carol's face reflected her worry back at Emory.

"Open up...open up!" Suddenly there was frantic yelling and commotion in the outer chamber. Emory immediately pulled her Sig and raced downstairs but Carl was already there unlocking the gates. Rick and Maggie were frantically wheeling Hershel in on a stainless steel cart...blood flowing profusely from the man's crudely amputated leg.

"Oh my God! What happened?" Carol cried as Lori and Beth joined her.

"He was bit. I had no choice. I had no ...choice," Rick's hands were shaking and bloody and he seemed to be glazing out of consciousness.

Carol and Lori flew into action, while Glenn helped to transfer Hershel to a cot. Carol began frantically trying find anything and everything to stop the bleeding.

Emory was on her way to go help Carol when she heard Daryl and T-Dog yelling in the outer chamber. With her Sig raised she cautiously rounded the corner and entered, instantly taking stock of the situation. Daryl had his crossbow aimed and T-Dog had his gun pointed at a hispanic guy pointing his own gun. Behind him were three african american males dressed as convicts and a smaller scraggly white guy...also a convict. And a greasy hispanic man aiming his gun alternately at Daryl and T.

"Well, Well, looks like you've got even more hot pussy back there. How many more ya got? I'm feeling a partay is in order!" The swarthy hispanic man looked her up and down, a skeezy lascivious smirk on his face.

"Shut the fuck up Tomas! Are ya tryin' ta get us killed?" The 2nd tallest black man yelled at him.

"Emory go back inside! Now!" Daryl growled at her in a low warning tone. He didn't want these assholes to even look at her much less talk to her.

"And let you have all the fun? Please? You know what a great shot I am?" She taunted, enjoying how the prisoners blanched. She had a good feeling that Daryl was responsible for her being left behind lately, and she didn't like it. But the warning look in Daryl's eyes told her now was not the time for that conversation.

"Fine. Just call me if ya need me to execute anyone!" Emory glared at the gun holder then turned and left but stayed just on the other side of the wall just so she could be there in a millisecond if need be.

"I NEED ya sweetheart! My DICK could sure use a massage by you!" She heard the hispanic guy call out to her followed by more swarthy laughter.

"You just shut the fuck up and get on outta here. See here, today's yer lucky day fellas. Ya'll been pardoned by the state of Georgia! Go on, get on outta here," Daryl drawled, his crossbow aimed squarely between the hispanic's eyes.

"Well, ya see, despite what 'ya'll' think, I ain't retarded. The way I figure it, if a buncha white folks are fuckin' breakin' INTO prison...see here, that tells me there ain't nuthin' out THERE for us. I'm thinkin' we'll just take our cells back!" Tomas was a psycho, but true to his word, he wasn't stupid.

Rick walked past Emory, his eyes imploring her to go help with Hershel as he went to deal with the convict situation. Emory hesitated for a second but then did as Rick wished.

Emory forced herself to leave then started heading down the hall to join Carol. She nearly cut the corner when she caught sight of Carl skulking off towards the far doors. His key was in the lock.

"Carl? What's going on?" Emory ambled over to him, easily able to tell the boy was up to something.

"I was just thinking I need to do something to help Hershel. Look down the hall there. I was thinking if that 'NIC' might be the clinic?" Carl pointed it out through the slats.

Emory looked for herself and also for any sign of walkers. Sure enough she could just make out the painted letters at the far end..."N.I.C." This wasn't ideal by any stretch. Taking a kid with her to do something like this was a huge risk. But Hershel needed medication desperately and Carl wasn't just any kid...he was ... Well he was, Carl. And the others all had their hands full.

"You got your gun and knife with you?" Emory double-checked and when Carl nodded, Emory cautiously agreed. Carl smiled solemnly then used his set of keys to open the gate. Silently they entered the hall.

"We are stealthy ninjas," she warned Carl, trying to make this less dire than it was, and Carl acted accordingly. Together they made their way to the "NIC"...,,which as Carl surmised was the CLINIC. There were two walkers still inside but Emory and Carl easily handled them.

"Well lookee here Carl Grimes, you Badass stealthy ninja!" Emory smiled with glee as she stuffed gauze, antiseptic and a whole host of other medical supplies into Carl's backpack. Once it was full, she grabbed pillowcases and began shoving things into them as well.

"This is good yea?" Carl's face shone brighter than she'd seen since they'd met.

"This is really good." Emory bent down and kissed his grimy cheek. And once they'd taken their fill after five stuffed pillowcases and a backpack full of meds and supplies, they carefully made their way back to C-Block.

"Good plan Carl Grimes," Emory effused, painfully aware how he needed the positive strokes.

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Carl marched into Hershell's cell first. He proudly dropped the bag full of sterile gauze, bandages and disinfectant on the floor beside Carol. Carol, Lori and Beth all looked down in shock and joy...then upwards to see who'd delivered the lifesaving supplies. Only then did Emory wheel in the cart with the rest of the supplies and medicine.

"Oh my God! Carl! This is amazing!" Carol instantly grabbed some gauze and started using it to staunch the bleeding which had already soaked through the sheets.

"And we found some serious meds too," Emory began handing Maggie vials and bottles of what she'd brought. Maggie immediately started an IV then pulled a syringe of Morphine and injected her father, who visibly relaxed within seconds. His heartbeat remained faint but regular.

"Beth, hang up the IV bag there," Maggie helped Beth rig up an IV hook through the crooks of the bunk then they all set to work to try and make Hershel more comfortable.

"Thank you. Thank you both so much!" Maggie's eyes filled with tears. She knew her daddy would likely have died from shock without the meds they'd acquired.

"Where did you two get all this? From those prisoners?" Lori asked Carl. She'd already seen Rick and the others carrying large cans and bags of food, and simply assumed.

"No. Me and Emory found the clinic just down the hall!" Carl announced, obviously pleased with himself. But Lori paled and blanched.

"Are you crazy? Do you see this!" She pointed towards Hershel's missing leg. "And this was with the entire group!" Lori attacked.

"It was no big deal! Hershel needed it. I did what needed to be done!" Carl yelled back and then ran off, his hurt apparent.

"And you! You, I expected to know better. You better stay the hell away from my kid!" Lori screamed at Emory.

"Are you frickin' kidding me? Should I ignore Carl just like you do? Is that maybe why I found him off on his own, preparing to head off into the tombs alone...yet again? Like when he took Daryl's gun back at the farm to go play with walkers in the mud? Or the night we lost the farm? Jeezus Christ, Lori, how many times is this now that you've lost track of YOUR son? Because the rest if us have sure as shit lost count!" Emory was not going to just take Lori's fantasy bullshit lying down...not when Carl had done such a good thing.

Lori started to voice a defense but thought better of it, her eyes filling with tears instead.

"Carl was this close to going off on his own. Yet again. I'm sorry Lori, but you can't have it both ways. We haven't lived in Mayberry in a reallylong time Lori. Either pull your head out of your ass long enough to get to know your son ...and have a say in the man he becomes...or just shut the hell up!" Emory was exhausted and she just snapped back before she could measure the effect her words would have.

"Go...apologize! And talk to Carl. Or even better, just listen," Emory suggested. But the slump in Lori's back made her wonder if she should maybe have held her tongue.

Lori eventually stiffened her spine and continued to tend to Hershel. With a sigh, Emory finally left to check on Carl,

To Be Continued


	14. Chapter 14 - And She Sobbed Alone

**A/N**: I loved having new source material for the new episodes of Walking Dead. I read some reviews that the episode was boring, but my take was that the premiere really NEEDED two hours to reset the landscape. If you look back at season one, it took a good few episodes to set the landscape. And season two and three it took the time. But other AMC premieres have done the two hour premiere, and for the network's top rated series, it was worthy of such an effort. I felt like I was getting a tidbit her and a tidbit there, everywhere a tidbit. To let me know how my favorites had fared. But the most substantial things that happened to promote the storyline? In a nutshell, wasn't it Patrick's and Violet's death?

Given what the actor have promised, I am so IN.

I would beg for reviews, but I cannot in good conscience. I read stories all the time on my phone (where I also write, my work blocks the site) and often cannot take the time to review. So if you just follow, I am stoked. Reviews are always preferred though, but I understand.

Would love to hear your comments on the new season, regardless of my story!

So here is my take on 'Secrets Get You Killed"

btw - I am updating Learning to LIve.

**And for all the newbies**: Thank you so much for your support. I write this for me, but it is so amazing when others enjoy and feel likewise!

* * *

Emory was beyond exhausted after today's drama. Between the discovery and subsequent deaths of three prisoners, Lori and Carl's bitter sniping, Hershel getting bit, and now she was at odds with Daryl...it was all too much

Emory stripped naked and tilted her head back and sighed with pleasure under the tiny RV shower as the warm water trickled over her bare skin. Emory washed and shampooed and shaved until eventually, Emory reluctantly climbed out of the tiny cubicle and slipped on a clean t-shirt. Only then did she stare at herself in the vanity mirror. Only then, did she begin practicing, the way she had fresh out of Quantico.

"So Daryl?...did you go to Rick?" Emory initially tried out. "No, that's weak," she admonished.

"So Daryl, were you gonna tell that went to Rick? No, that puts him on the defensive. How about, Daryl are you responsible...? No, No, No," Emory bowed her head and tried again to clear her mind.

She knew Daryl was pissed at her but she was probably even more pissed at him. It felt awful. It felt wrong. Unnatural. She hated it. It felt like she was missing a part of herself. But this couldn't go on. Not with lives at stake.

"Suck it up girl," Emory gave herself a final pep talk and, head held high she prepared herself to have it out with Daryl.

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Emory steathily made her way through the dark prison corridors, with only the dimmed lantern glow from the few who were still awake to light her way. But upstairs was completely dark, yet she knew the way by heart.

"Hey," Emory whispered quietly as she leaned against door to watch him. Daryl took a moment to glance up at her for a second, but then just as quickly, he looked away. Instead, he resumed throwing that little bouncy superball up at the ceiling ...over and over again.

Emory tried to ignore his coldness, but it was hard and it hurt. This was new territory for her too. She'd never been on more than three dates with the same man much less lived with a man. Plus, she'd been mad at him first. Who the hell did he think he was to be mad at her now. To try and poach her 'mad'.

But he was looking especially 'hot & fine' right now... the way the golden glow from the lantern illuminated the chiseled lines of his body. Emory decided to abandon her old plan and swiftly formulated a new one.

"Whatever," she ignored his mood. And with slow precise movements Emory sauntered over to their dresser and shimmied out of her tight yoga pants, watching from the corner of her eye. He wasn't immune.

Pretending to be stiff, ...and in just her bra and panties, Emory raised her arms up over her head and arched her back. Then she squirted out some lotion and slowly massaged it into each calf, then her arms...finally rubbing the remainder onto her bare abdomen. She smiled when she heard him fumble his bouncy ball.

Emory, acting like it was just another night, crawled into bed beside him, and her smooth, bare legs strategically rubbed against his. She listened to his breathing as he continued to try and act ambivalent, but the tightening of his jaw and hitched breath told her otherwise. He still hadn't pulled her into his arms like usual, but he could have pulled away but he didn't. Emory chose to look on the bright side. But the bouncy ball was driving her nuts.

"E-fuckin-nuff," like a ninja, she reached over and snatched the ball mid air and tossed it over into his pile of socks. "Or would you rather find our what I'm THIS close to doing with that fricken' superball."

Except Daryl had no intention of letting go of his 'mad' either. As fast as she had grabbed the superball, he grabbed her. Before she knew what or how it had happened she was on her back and he was firmly on top of her. But rather than soft and loving, his face was tight and angry.

"What the fuck were ya thinkin', Em'ry? Takin' Carl and goin' off on yer own in the tombs? Not even fuckin' five minutes after Hershel got bit. And what if there were other prisners'! You have no idea what..." Daryl was still reeling from watching Rick put that machete in Tomas's head.

"What? So tell me what happened? You've all been...different," Emory cupped his face in her hands.

"Don't matter now. Christ Em! You ain't dumb. Ya know it ain't safe! How the hell am I gonna keep ya safe if yer so hell bent on gitten' yerself killed?" Daryl scolded, his agitation making him anxious.

Emory was actually rather surprised by his outburst. It had to be the most he'd ever said to her at one time. He was obviously still furious with her, but Emory could see the fear ... and caring in his eyes.

"And exactly, what is "safe" for me these days Mister Dixon? Sitting here all day in this cell? Rationing packs of Ramen Noodles? Should I start learning to knit, and ignore that I was trained to uphold the law, as well as to apprehend and kill? Should I fuckin' start learning how to darn your Goddamned socks? And who the hell said it was your responsibility to keep me safe?" Emory's rant came flooding out as she snapped, her voice getting louder and louder with every phrase.

"Shhhh, keep it down!" Daryl placed his fingertips over her lips. His blue eyes sparkled with heat and intense emotion.

"Damn You, Daryl Dixon! Don't you dare do that. Don't you dare give me THAT look! I know what you're doing," Emory accused but she still felt her bones becoming soft and malleable as she melted under his touch.

"I don't know whatcha ya talkin' 'bout," Daryl was actually starting to enjoy this. Flirting with someone he cared about. Someone who would never hurt him or use him. Knowing he had an effect on her? It has euphoric!

"Bullshit. You know exactly what you're doing! And its not fair," Emory felt herself weaken and her resolve was fading fast.

"You look at me right now Daryl Dixon! I would use your middle name if you would ever tell me what it is. You'd better damn well tell me RIGHT NOW, why you've been asking Rick to put me on the children and housewife detail?" Emory demanded but her tone was softer, adjusting to Daryl's obvious discomfort.

"Who fuckin' toldya I asked Rick? It was fuckin' Glenn, wasn't it? I'm gonna beat his ass!" Daryl pouted as he planned his retaliation.

"Ah ha! So you did go to Rick! I knew it!" Emory poked his shoulder triumphantly.

"And second, nobody told me anything so you better leave Glenn be. I was just fishing. It was YOU that confirmed!" Emory smiled, with a touch of warning in her gaze.

"Ya tricked me?" Daryl groaned in the realization that she'd just manipulated him into confessing.

"I did. But you have to stop this. I can't just walk around here while you and the others risk their lives daily." Emory pleaded with him to understand.

Daryl listened to her, but the set of his jaw told her he was digging in.

"You and I both know that I should have been with you guys today rather than Hershel," Emory saw Daryl flinch at her words.

"And if Lori goes into labor? If she or the baby dies? Can you live with that? I can't!" Emory lightly traced his cheek with her fingertips.

In lieu of responding, he pinned her wrists above her head. His blue eyes were thoughtful, staring down at her. He tried not to let it, but every so often he couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that this gorgeous, brave, amazing woman chose him. Cared about him.

Her chestnut hair tumbled all around her pillow and he was sorely tempted to bury his fingers in the damp tendrils. And then there was her full pink lips... lips that always seemed slightly swollen. Lips that always turned him on. And then her warm, wet kisses from those very lips began moving up his neck.

"I ain't gonna let ya go jus' cuz yer doin' that," Daryl looked down at her, but his dilated pupils and increased heartbeat told her otherwise.

"I'm glad. I've always wondered about this since reading Fifty Sh ...nevermind," she purred huskily and licked the pulsing vein on his throat.

Emory moved her thighs a little further apart so Daryl could settle more comfortably. His pelvis pressed harder against hers and she felt just how "not indifferent" he was.

"But you still have to tell me why you had me benched. So either you tell me, or I will have no choice but to go to Rick myself. Why have you been treating my like I'm no more capable than a damn toddler?" Emory stopped and stared at him.

"I don't think ya ain't capable," he mumbled, but he still averted his eyes.

"If you can't or won't look me in the eyes when you tell me something, then it doesn't count," Emory pressed on, even as she continued pressing soothing kisses against his sun leathered cheek.

"I fuckin' KNOW yer capable," he growled in frustration.

"Then why? We fought together all winter," Emory asked, reaching up to brush a longish strand off his forehead.

"Dunno," Daryl suddenly look embarrassed and he closed his eyes before rolling away. To anyone else it would seem like he was pulling away or giving up. But Emory saw it as the concession it was. Revealing... opening up, at least a little.

"You don't know why?" Emory rolled over onto her side to and curled up onto him.

"Its just...ever since we started...ya know... Things have been different. I'm different. I worry about ya all the goddamned time! I cain't even stop it if I wanted to...and I hate that. I worry, what if ya weren't here at the end of the day...waitin' fer me in our bed," Daryl struggled to verbalize his deepest fears, completely unprepared for sharing.

"Daryl?" Emory's voice soothed like warm whiskey.

"Please tell me that you know, I feel the same! Except, for the fact that I can't stop YOU from constantly putting yourself at risk," Emory wrapped her arms around his taut, corded shoulders.

"Daryl, will you please stop pulling strings with Rick?" Emory slowly stroked the back of his neck, her nails causing him to shiver.

Daryl was torn and his eyes kept cutting side to side...seeking any preferable alternatives.

"Fine, for now! But if shit changes? I cain't promise I won't do it again." Daryl turned away bashfully, melting her heart yet again.

"I can live with that." Emory smiled and hugged him tightly, her exuberance catching him off guard. But her body could feel the hard outlines of his. EVERY hard outline.

"Are you very tired?" Emory held his forefinger in her mouth before slowly releasing it.

"If I'm ever too tired for you, you'd better put a bolt in my head," Daryl instanly took control and Emory's clothes were soon torn away and left for the trash heap.

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Hours later, sore from their amazing lovemaking, Emory managed to slip out of Daryl's arms and padded downstairs and back to the RV.

She'd been terrfied for over a week now as she contemplated the impossible. They'd been careful. Sure, she didn't take the pill because it finding a supply was too eratic. But condoms? They were everywhere. Except people used to joke about expiration dates. Now they meant life and death...or new life. She'd spent the last few days debating, denying...terrified...the entire spectrum.

Now was the time! She couldn't stick her head in the sand any longer. There were other lives, other than hers, at risk.

Hidden way in the back of the vanity cupboard, way back behind the heaping supplies of tampons and pads, were a stash of pregnancy test kits...most likely Maggie had picked them up.

With just the dim night light to guide her, she skimmed the directions. Emory's hands shook as she slipped the stick from the wrapper and followed the directions. Then waited.

Emory was barely able to breathe as she sat on the toilet and waited, and watched. Emory finally forced herself to look over at the stick. Praying to any and every God Almighty, however known. Please be negative!

For a minute Emory just sat completely still, and then...after looking at the stick, she bent over and looked at the stick.

And Sobbed Alone.


	15. Chapter 15 - What A Difference A Day

"Emory? Please Go! Get help. You are our only hope," Carol was dehydrated and weak with lips that were cracked and bleeding at the creases. But Emory could only barely make out her face in the dark room that had once been a linen closet.

What a difference a day made! Yesterday her biggest worries was that she and Daryl were at odds...oh yeah, and the little fact of finding out she was pregnant. Now she seriously doubted she'd make it through the night...or the day. She had no idea how long it had been, since they'd been stuck in this room since the attack. Judging by their condition it was likely more than 48 hours.

"Carol I can't! I don't even know if I can feel my legs, much less fight. What if there are walkers still pressed against that door? I won't make it two seconds." Emory sighed, her bones sore and so very weary.

The only thing that helped her hang on as long as she had was Daryl, or rather her memories with Daryl.

Emory and Carol spent so much time nodding in and out of consciousness, her dreams became preferable to reality. Emory started to crave the moments when she let herself slip away into her dreams.

"We'll make it. They'll find us," Carol assured while she held Emory's hand and did her best to sound convincing. But both women knew the truth. Neither would last another 24 hours without water.

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Daryl was technically asleep but his body still tossed and turned, his legs frantically kicking the covers, eventually forming a twisted sheet knot around his feet. Only the smell of her t-shirt which he buried his face in, managed to comfort him.

"Em, I love you," his hand moved to hold her...to touch her. It wasn't until his hands gripped nothing but a fistful of empty sheets that he jerked upright, panicked and with sweat dripping from his entire body.

Daryl's eyes were glazed and shell-shocked as the memory and the horror of the last two days came rushing back in dramatic flashes.

His first memory was of Emory. She was so pretty, standing there in the noon day sun. She had her hair down, just a clip or something pulling a small section of her hair back to reveal her face.

He had been helping Rick and Glenn secure the irrigation pipe and had just wiped his brow when he looked up and saw Emory's face break into a huge smile. She looked so happy, her eyes settling on him. He wished he'd had a camera. She'd never been more lovely.

Hershel managed to walk outside with crutches and Emory kept a step back so as to keep watch over Hershel. But just like in his nightmares, the walkers descended on Emory and he couldn't get to her. But this had been no nightmare. It was his reality. He ran and ran but they were locked inside the fence, his fists pounding and pounding as he watched helplessly.

"Daryl!" A soft voice interrupted his living nightmare.

Daryl glanced up to see Carl standing at the entrance of their cell.

"Wazzup?" Daryl answered nonchalantly while he dragged an arm across his face to wipe away his pain.

"Dad's still...in block D," Carl hesitated as he sought for words.

"Yea...he needs some time ta work things out is all," Daryl tried to help Carl understand.

"Are you going to...ummhh need some time to work things out too?" Carl asked tentatively as he entered Daryl and Emory's room. Carl wasn't ready to face the fact that Emory was gone, but if Daryl checked out on him too? Carl wasn't ready to deal with that.

"I'm fine," Daryl straightened his spine and shook it off, unable to even look at Emory's things... he just shrugged on his leather vest.

"Oscar and I were thinking about maybe trying to find ...ummhh ...Carol and Emory." Carl didn't beat around the bush. But the deadness in the boy's eyes was disturbing.

Daryl struggled to swallow. In fact, he really wanted to roll back into bed and close his eyes and smell her, maybe dream. In his dreams she was there, smiling at him.

"Go on. I'll meet ya and Oscar downstairs in a sec. I'ma git my things," Daryl turned away from the boy, sifting through his stuff, but really he was mentally preparing himself for the inevitable. Putting a bolt through Carol and Emory's head.

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"Daryl, look here," Carl squatted down to examine another dead walker. It was a bit odd to find so many dead ones given how far into the tombs they were.

"Isn't that Carol's knife? That means they must have made it at least this far, doesn't it?" Carl's face beamed back at Daryl with such youthful optimism. Such a strange incongruence given that the boy just confided to Daryl how he had to be the one to shoot Lori.

"Lets just keep going," Daryl refused to allow himself to hope.

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"If I try this, you have to slam the door behind me. I'll do my best to get help, or at least try and lead them to you," Emory took a deep breath and tried to steady her legs, doing a few stretches.

"Emory, you don't have to do this. We can wait," Carol changed her mind after seeing that Emory was nearly as bad of as her. She could barely speak but she could clearly see that Emory would be no match for a walker.

"We can't and you know it," Emory sighed and knelt down beside Carol, wrapping her arms around the other woman. "If we wait any longer one of us will die and end up attacking the other. I won't go that way!" Emory felt a fierceness returning.

"And the baby?" Carol asked and Emory stiffened.

"Um, I don't know. Hopefully Lori made it to safety," Emory panicked before she realized Carol must be asking about Lori's baby.

"Em, I found the kit in the trash...and it wasn't Maggie's," Carol answered.

"Oh, Ummm" Emory couldn't even think much less respond. She hadn't even accepted it herself, and had basically been pretending it wasn't true.

"When we get out of here, are you going to tell Daryl?" Carol wondered.

"I don't know. I mean why should I? We both know I can't keep it. There is no reason for both of us to feel shitty about it," Emory sighed and slid over to sit beside Carol, pulling her knees up to hold them.

"You don't know that," Carol reached over and held her hand.

"I do, and we've both seen why. But first things first. We need to get the hell out of here." Emory pushed herself up and took out her knife. And prepared to fight for her life.

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"Daryl you comin'?" Carl waited with Daryl at the last hall. They all knew Carol and Emory were likely down there...dead and turned. Hopefully they hadn't wandered away yet.

But Daryl couldn't bring himself to open any of the doors, and neither Carl nor Oscar was ready to rush the issue.

Daryl slid down the wall until he was sitting and stared at the wall, stabbing the floor with his knife over and over.

Daryl looked up over at Carl and with a nod, he stood up. Ignoring the tears that pooled he jerked open the first door.

Daryl raised his knife, ready to slay. But the room was empty, well except for stacks and stacks of toilet paper, paper towels and other supplies.

Carl and Oscar came running but Daryl held up a hand, nodding his head 'No'.

"Just a shitload of TP," Daryl tossed a few roles of the precious commodity before he moved to the next door.

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"Here goes everything!" Emory said one last goodbye to Carol after she said her final prayers to every God she could think of. Then, with grim determination, she raised her knife and opened the door.

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Daryl's hand hesitated on the handle. Just as we went to turn the handle the door slammed inward and a body rushed at him.

"Ahhhh," the figure screamed and Daryl moved to shove his knife in the walker's skull.

"Daryl?" Emory stilled. She recognized his smell instantly.

"Em?" Daryl froze, looking at her eyes, praying they were silver and not milky white.

"Emory!" Carl and Oscar came running.

But Daryl was holding her so tight she could hardly breathe. Or maybe she died and he was her heaven. Regardless, she couldn't believe he was here.

"Carol!" Carl found her and Oscar picked Carol up like she was nothing.

"Come on Dude, save the reunion. We need to get them both back to Hershel," Oscar nudged Daryl with his boot.

"Here, Emory," Carl handed her a bottle of water, then one for Carol, and both started to eagerly gulp.

"Slow down," Daryl pulled the bottle back. Then he got a real good look at Emory. Cracked lips, gaunt cheekbones and deep hollows under her eyes.

"I'm here," Daryl swung her into his arms, encouraged that she was able to lace her hands over his shoulders before she buried her face into his neck.

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"How is she?" Daryl silently waited while Hershel examined Emory after he'd helped Carol. He and Maggie immediately started IV's for both women, to get them hydrated faster.

"I'm fine Daryl," Emory answered, but her voice was raspy and hoarse. She had to lift her head to look beyond Hershel and see Daryl.

"Hush up and rest yer voice! I was asking the Doc," Daryl smiled at her, still unable to believe she was really here.

"She needs fluids and rest. This vaseline should help your lips heal. Beth has some broth cooking, and you need to eat it," Hershel instructed before turning to Daryl. "But she hasn't eaten in days so she needs to go easy. If the broth does well, we can try some pasta later." Hershel finally finished his exam and left the two alone.

"I missed you," Emory reached her hand out to him. Daryl held her hand gingerly and stroked her slim fingers, taking care not to touch her IV.

"Stop running off with other people then," he teased, then pressed kisses on her hand...over and over.

"Yea, you're right. My bad," she smiled and kissed his hand, leaving a thin smear of vaseline.

"Did uhm...the others? How are they?" Emory had to know. She'd seen Carl and Oscar and now Hershel. And Beth was cooking so she had to be ok. But Glenn, Maggie? Lori and Rick?

Daryl paused and then answered.

"We lost Lori," Daryl omitted the hows and what Carl had to do. That could come later.

"Nooo!" Emory turned away when she felt the tears begin to stream down her face.

"And the baby?" Emory instinctively placed a protective hand on her own abdomen.

"She's doin' real good. I would have found ya sooner but we needed formula," Daryl was wracked with guilt, more so now that he knew she'd been alive the whole time. She'd needed him and he didn't come for her ...not right away.

"Hey Emory, I brought you this," Beth came walking in with a mug of warm broth. In her other arm, she cradled the baby.

"The baby or the broth?" Emory asked, teasing Beth.

"You wanna see her?" Beth handed the baby to Daryl so her hands were free. It also gave Emory a better look.

"Daryl named her Little Asskicker," Beth sat on the bed and spooned some of the broth to Emory.

"You did not!" Emory feigned horror, but watching Daryl hold the baby pulled on her emotions. Tears began welling.

"Oh don't worry. Carl and Rick will give her a proper name...when they, um...get the time," Beth assumed that was why she was crying.

"I think Asskicker is an awesome name!" Emory reached a hand to hold one of the tiny fingers.

"Where's Rick?" Emory wondered why he hadn't been by. But he probably had watch or something. But the silent look that darted between Beth and Daryl told her something was off.

"Well, Rick isn't doing so well," Beth spoke first.

"Was he bit?" Emory asked.

"When Maggie and Carl ran back with just Asskicker here, and no Lori... Well, Rick sorta lost it. He's been clearing D-block," Daryl left out that Rick had been talking on the phone. The unplugged phone.

"Daryl left immediately to get her some formula. She'd have died if he hadn't," Beth proclaimed then leaned over to kiss the baby's forehead, clearly besotted by her.

"I'd have killed him if he let this angel starve," Emory stroked Daryl's leg. She could tell he'd been anxious letting her know why he didn't come after her right away.

"How do you feel? Is it too much?" Beth was concerned by the strange look on Emory's face.

"I'm fine. It's perfect. Thank's," Emory assured the younger woman (Beth hadn't been a girl in a long time).

"Would you like some noodles?" Beth offered.

"Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow," Emory promised. The warm liquid gave her shrunken stomach a comfy full feeling.

Daryl handed the sleeping baby back to Beth, and once again they were alone. But then Emory started to get out of bed.

"I was thinking I would rather go to my bed," she went to stand.

"Hey, lay back down. This IS your bed. For now anyway," Daryl sat beside her to gently lay her back down.

"Besides, if you need something Hershel cain't get up the stairs all that easy. It'll just be fer a few nights," Daryl promised.

"Fine," Emory huffed her disappointment. "Its just...these last two nights without you were,"

"Oh, I ain't leavin'," Daryl looked at her like she'd gone crazy. In fact, he already had his stuff tucked up on the top bunk. Before she could speak, he pulled the mattress down and laid it on the floor beside her.

"Hey," she leaned over and traced his bare shoulder. "You got room down there for one more?"

Daryl squinted his eyes at her, then began looking up and down as if appraising something

"Com'ere," Daryl made sure the IV was long enough before he carried her to the pallet on the floor before pulling her mattress beside the other.

When she was nestled in his arms, head on his shoulder she knew this was she belonged. She was home.

"I really thought ya were gone," Daryl finally admitted, his voice barely a whisper into her hair.

"You were all I could think of in that roon. I replayed my favorite memories of you. It was what kept me going. You kept me going," Emory kissed his chest.

"Ya got favorite memories?" Daryl seemed surprised by this.

"Well yeah. Don't you?" Emory answered. The fluids were working wonders and she already felt tremendously better.

"I do," Daryl's answered, his most recent favorite rushing back... It was the night after their argument.

"But I'd rather make some new favorites," Emory couldn't help but run the tip of her tongue up his neck, loving the way it pulsed wildly as she did.

"Hey now, you stop that," Daryl protested but his body responded and his dick strained for attention.

"Ain't no memories gettin' made tonight," Daryl couldn't help but get drawn in by her infectious playfulness.

"Tomorrow?" She nipped his ear.

"We'll see what Hershel says," he agreed, hoping to God Hershel would give the all clear.

"Ok, and Daryl? ... Thank you," Emory meant to say 'I love you' but in the end chickened out, not after he got so weird the last time she said it. There was no way she would be able tell him she was pregnant. And that was her last thought before she started to drift away and exhaustion took over

Daryl held her as she fell asleep, watching the lines of her face soften. He refused to let go, afraid if he did she might disappear.

His last thoughts before he too succumbed to sleep were, that this had to be what love felt like. He'd never felt so grateful and happy.


	16. Chapter 16-We'll Make It Work

Emory stretched and forced her stiff muscles into compliance before she slowly made her way downstairs to the common area, the aroma of hot coffee and something sweet calling to her...a smell that was warm and soothing.

"That smells like heaven Beth," Emory complimented when she finally made it. She was feeling a thousand times better already since she'd rehydrated. And her lips were starting to heal nicely too. But best of all, she slept all night wrapped in Daryl's arms. So, other than moving a bit slowly, she was nearly back to normal.

That is, if by normal, you mean completely refusing to accept that she was pregnant, then yeah, she was back to normal. But before she could even dwell on her dysfunction, her stomach growled loud and angry.

"Em? What are ya doing up?" Daryl scolded but immediately rushed over and picked her up, gently setting her beside him. "I told ya I would bring ya breakfast when it was done."

"I know. But I'm fine and I'm SO sick of being cooped up," Emory didn't need to explain further.

Beth turned from the campstove to hand Emory a bowl of warm oatmeal which she'd expertly doctored up with their precious of brown sugar and raisins. But when Beth went to take a bowl to Carol, the other prisoner, Axel stood up.

"Ma'am? Would it be ok if I took that ta Miss Carol?" the bashful man with handlebar moustache asked. It was evident both he and Oscar were beyond grateful for being accepted into the fold, but this was more than gratitude. Whatever it was, Emory thought it was cute that Carol had a suitor.

"Yo Axel! I best not EVER here that yer botherin' her!" Daryl squinted his eyes and warned.

"Yessir. Of course Sir. I mean ya won't Sir!" Axel stammered then bowed his head in deference before finally running off to find Carol.

"Stop it. Don't terrify the poor man," Emory nudged Daryl with her shoulder, but nonetheless, was proud of the way he watched out for Carol.

Emory couldn't hold off another second. In fact she couldn't seem to eat her oatmeal fast enough, having to actually force herself to slow down so as not to get sick. After so long without food, this was pure ambrosia.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught Daryl smirking at her, apparently satisfied by her ravenous appetite.

The quiet of the morning was suddenly interrupted by an equally hungry baby. Beth tried to go to her, but between trying to cook, serve coffee and basically take care of everyone the girl had her hands full.

"May I?" Emory stood and walked over to the large recycle bin they'd turned into Lil' Asskicker's crib. Despite the less than fancy surroundings, the infant looked like an angel lying in it, so tiny and pink. The angel then let out another perturbed wail that walkers from five miles out could hear.

"Oh yes please? And Maggie? Will you make up a bottle? The formula is up there," Beth had had to point with her chin. "The pot of boiling water is here" Beth was visibly frazzled and was in desperate need of help. Emory couldn't believe that less than a year ago, she'd been a typical naive teenager.

Emory picked up Asskicker and cradled her in the crook of her arm, unable to stop herself from kissing the baby's soft head...all peach fuzzy and soft. And she smelled so pretty. A unique fragrance of baby powder combined with that perfect baby scent. But every second that passed without her bottle, Asskicker got fussier and louder.

"Try this! She usually likes it," Daryl reached over and rythmically patted the baby's bottom, which instantly settled her down while Maggie rushed to get the bottle ready.

"Who knew you were the baby whisperer?" Emory was in awe of Daryl, who instantly blushed red. Still her heart melted at seeing him so caring and loving with the baby.

"Nah, Daryl's just our resident ladies man is all," Maggie winked and handed Emory the bottle before sitting by Glenn to drink her coffee.

There was something rather perfect and homey about this whole scene, Emory thought. She could almost forget she was pregnant and that she nearly died yesterday. And that Lori and T-Dog weren't here to share it.

"Um Daryl? Maggie and I were thinking that we should go on a run today," Glenn spoke up. "We're already running low on formula and diapers. We can make it two days, maybe three if we stretch the formula,"

"If by stretchin' ya mean water down her formula or leave her to sit in filthy diapers, Then No Damn Way!" Daryl slammed his coffee mug with a bit more force than he intended.

"There's a town about five miles west as the crow flies. But to get to it, we'll have to head north up 60 then come back around down Rt-90 to avoid that traffic snarl," Maggie added. It was clear she and Glenn had already done a lot of planning. Daryl's bike worked ok for a quick run, but to stock up properly they needed to take the car.

"Alright. But don't try nuthin' too risky either. Just do some recon and a quick grab'n'snatch. If ya find something worth goin' back fer, just come back and we'll put a team together. Do it proper," Daryl reluctantly had taken over the roll as leader while Rick struggled. And was doing incredibly at it. Who would have thought this was the same Daryl Dixon she'd first met?

"Where's Rick?" Emory withdrew the bottle to burp Asskicker who became quite pissed at Emory for taking her bottle away.

But Emory couldn't quite get over how odd it was that Beth was the one taking care of Rick's baby all the time. The same baby that Rick had been hell bent on Lori keeping. Before she got an answer, Asskicker let out a burp even Merle would have been proud of. Daryl reached over and caressed her tiny hand.

"He's outside...still spending a lot of time by Lori's grave," Hershel had been doing his best to try to bring Rick back to sanity, but it was slow going.

Ever since he'd found out that Rick was hearing voices and maybe even having hallucinations, he'd been debating whether or not to start him on an antipsychotic. But psychiatric meds were far outside his expertise. As a vet, he was rarely called in to treat psychotic farm animals.

"Is there anything we can do?" Emory was concerned for their fearless leader. Despite a few lapses in judgment, he'd been a great leader and ...more importantly, they still really needed him.

"All we can do is try and give him the time and space he needs. Its just ...I worry we don't have much of either," Hershel voiced all their fears.

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Emory carried Asskicker outside with her. The infant was sleeping soundly but Emory was more than a tad worried. Glenn and Maggie had been gone for over eight hours now. They should have been back hours ago, even with the detours.

"Daryl? I'm worried. They should have been back by now don't you think?" Emory frowned while she rythmically patted Judith as she and Daryl looked out over the yard towards the gate.

"They may have had ta take more detours. Ya know how quickly those herds can change and jam up the roads. I'ma give 'em a few more hours," Daryl's lips were set in a grim line. He was obviously just as worried but wasn't ready to sound the alarm...Yet. This group couldn't handle any more losses.

As if picking up on Emory's angst, Asskicker began fussing, her tiny face scrunching up like a little old man.

"Oh, its ok sweetie," Emory kissed her forehead and tried to soothe her, but she just became more agitated.

"Here," Daryl reached out to hold her, rocking her side to side and talking in his low, throaty voice.

"Showoff! And you're a little hussy!" Emory accused the baby who was now soundly asleep in Daryl's arms, her lips suckling contentedly.

"She's pretty special isn't she? Like some sorta miracle?" Emory couldn't help but smile at the two of them.

"She ain't bad," Daryl pretended to be ambivalent. But neither of them could forget what it had cost Lori...and the group...to have this little angel.

Emory began to wonder if now might be a good time to tell him. She glanced over as Daryl bent down and cooed at the infant.

"You keep this up, she's gonna start calling YOU Daddy," Emory did her best to sound lighthearted but deep down inside she was this close to crying. Daryl would never get to coo at or hold his own child. Their child. Subconsciously she wondered if their baby's eyes would be blue or silver. Or something different?0-

"Screw that! I ain't ever gonna be no kid's Dad!" Daryl vehemently spat. He quickly checked himself, instantly aware of his over-reaction. But it was a promise he'd made long ago to himself. That the Dixon cycle of awful parenting would end with him.

"Ya see, the best thing about her is...she ain't mine! I can hold her...then give her back ta Beth or Rick at anytime," Daryl chuckled, but it came out fake and hollow. He felt oddly empty as he lead the way back inside the prison. He also never saw the wave of hurt on Emory's face.

Emory followed numbly behind Daryk as she ruminated. So maybe now wasn't the right time to tell him she was pregnant. Would there ever be a right time? Likely not. He obviously had no desire for a child. Maybe the wisest course of action was for her to just 'handle it' with nobody the wiser. What else could she do?

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The remaining hours passed even slower and it was now dangerously close to dusk. Emory was frantic with worry for Glenn and Maggie, as were the others.

Emory decided it would be best to spend what little was left of their daylight with Carl, patrolling the fence line. Neither talked much since they were both constantly on alert for the low whine of Glenn and Maggie's car.

In fact, she'd been so fixated on listening for their car, she didn't pay much attention to the cluster of walkers forming just outside the gate.

"Emory?" Carl softly interrupted and sidled beside her, tugging her elbow to quietly get her attention.

"Look," he whispered, turning to the cluster at the gate. Barely a foot from the fence stood a black woman with thick dreads, filthy and bloody and covered near head to toe in walker filth. Stood was a rather optimistic term since the woman was swaying precariously.

She seemed different than the walkers somehow...more alive, but that wasn't possible. The walkers weren't paying any attention to her. The walker guts? Rick's story of how they escaped Atlanta suddenly flashed to mind.

Emory cautiously approached the fence, still unsure if she was a newly turned walker or a human in dire need of help. Her skin seemed healthy and her eyes were bright, and they also reflected just how much pain she was in. In one hand she carried an impressive sword and in the other...she carried a grocery basket. As Emory walked closer, she could see baby formula and wipes.

The woman was bleeding fresh blood and the walkers started picking up her scent. Emory knew she had to make a decision.

"Carl! I need you to listen to me. You have to help me open the gate! But then you have to shut it right behind me and RUN! Then go get Daryl and your Dad! Do you understand me?" Emory shouted out orders.

Carl nodded his understanding and then he and Emory both worked to open up the gates. Her arms strained to pull the heavy chains and without Carl, she doubted she would have been able to do it. When the opening was wide enough for her to get through, Emory turned once again to face Carl.

"I'm SO serious, Carl! You stay the HELL in here and you shut these gates. Then go get help!" Emory was already proud of Carl.

Emory cleared her mind, and then she slipped through the opening and ran to the woman, who had now collapsed. Emory fought off the walkers but the blood was whipping them into frenzy mode. Emory struggled to carry the semi-conscious woman and fight off the walkers.

Two loud gunshots in quick succession shocked Emory. Her head jerked up just as Carl killed two walkers that were bearing down on her. And then, 100% contrary to her orders, the boy opened the gate.

Using every last ounce of her strength, she managed to carry the woman inside. The instant she cleared the gate, Emory let the woman slide to the ground so she could help Carl re-secure the gate. By then, Daryl and Rick were sprinting down the yard.

"What the fuck Emory?" Daryl screamed as he ran even faster, figuring out what just happened. His body was practically vibrating with a potent mix of fear and fury after seeing her struggle to fight off the walkers. Rick just seemed dazed and confused. But his son being in danger seemed to finally crack through his wall of 'crazy'.

"Rick...Daryl?" Emory pleaded with them to listen. "She was carrying a basket of baby formula, diapers and a rubber duck? That is not coincidence! We NEED HER to find Glenn and Maggie!" Emory managed to speak in as few words as possible.

Daryl quickly grasped the import of what she was saying, which thankfully meant he had stopped yelling and was now pacing furiously back and forth.

"Lets talk about this later ok? But right now, we need to get her to Hershel. Come on, help me carry her?" Emory motioned to Carl given that he was the most rational of the men. But Daryl rushed ahead, easily scooping up the injured woman. Carl, Rick and Emory hurried behind.

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"How is she doing?" Emory approached Hershel with hands full of gauze, sutures, Lidocaine, and syringes. And a precious morphine vial.

"She's got a through and through. There's bleedin' but no major organs or arteries appear to be hit, thank God," Hershel worked efficiently to patch up the unconscious woman while Beth and Carol assisted, both trying to learn as much as they could.

Rick and Daryl still wouldn't let the injured woman into the cell block "for security reasons" so Emory and Carol dragged down a cot so she could at least rest on something more comfortable than the filthy concrete floor.

"But thats not all. She's been badly beaten. And quite recently. She's got military style injuries here ...here...and here. We cannot take this lightly. These were skilled and quite intentional. Its been a very long while since I saw injuries like these. Somebody wanted this woman dead...but not until after she experienced excruciating pain first," Hershel pointed at the various wounds and Emory nodded in agreement.

Hershel's face was full of worry, even more so that Glenn and Maggie STILL had not yet returned. Emory knew deep in her marrow that this woman knew where Glenn and Maggie were.

"Hershell, how long before she's conscious," Emory finally asked what everyone really wanted to know.

"A few hours ... best case," Hershel shook his head yet he knew what they wanted. Needed. And he needed the woman to talk also. It was his daughter and the man, he considered a son, still out there. But he couldn't in good conscience not give this woman pain relief while repairing a gunshot wound.

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Emory had been on edge since they brought the woman in. The way Daryl or Tyreese kept guard over her every second was concerning her more and more. Emory eventually found Rick standing on the perch, holding and rocking Judith whilst staring through the windows that were so filthy light barely hazed through.

"Rick? I'd like to be the one to talk to her when she wakes up. I'm probably the face she is most likely to remember. We don't want to terrify her, for obvious reasons. We really need her to trust us!" Emory stated the obvious.

Rick stared quietly at the window, almost as if he'd been waiting for her. After what felt like forever, he finally spoke.

"I just can't Emory. Daryl doesn't want you around her. At least not until Daryl and I have had a chance to talk to her," Rick looked away, unable to meet her eyes. She could almost see him prepare for her backlash.

"I get that. And I appreciate what a good friend you are to him." Emory relaxed against the railing. Rick was visibly surprised by the change in tactic.

"But Daryl's judgment on this is wrong. I've interviewed hundreds of suspects. As a sheriff, you know how it is. After a while you start to get a gut feeling about people. So whay do YOU think is best...for the group?" Emory knew flying off the handle would just reinforce his belief that Daryl was right, so she kept her cool.

"Emory, its not that I don't agree with you. You ARE the best person to have there when this woman wakes up. But I owe Daryl for things that I will never be able to repay. So when he asks me for even a small thing like this... I have no choice. Its a 'no-brainer'! I OWE HIM!" Rick laid it all bare. On the positive side, his eyes were once-again clear and thoughtful.

"Ok, I get it. I don't like it or agree with it, but I can understand it. And ..., thank you, for being his friend. He needs you. More than I think you know," Emory leaned over to kiss Judith's cheek and then, after only a brief hesitation, she hugged Rick.

"Is it ok if we keep this discussion between us?" Emory didn't want Daryl to know that she knew he was behind this.

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Frustrated at being relegated to the sidelines once again, Emory tried like hell to busy herself by tidying up their cell, then the common area, then sorting ammo in the storage locker... anything to distract herself from what was going on downstairs. Hopefully, Carol and Hershel would temper Daryl and Rick's intensity and not antagonize their only hope of finding Glenn and Maggie.

She became so lost in her thoughts that she never even heard Daryl enter their cell. Without a word he began packing up all his weapons and bolts.

"What is it? Its Glenn and Maggie, isn't it?" Emory's heart jumped in her chest and she prepared to join him.

"The Last Samurai chick. She finally woke up. Told us this asshole from a nearby town jumped them. Said he kidnapped Glenn and Maggie and took them back to this town. Called it Woodbury. She knows the place. It ain't on the map so we need her to show us the way," Daryl was practically vibrating with fury.

"Thank God! If he took them like she said, then that means he didn't want them dead...else he'd have done it right then. He wants them for something, which means there's a good chance they're still alive," Emory rattled off scenarios. She forced herself to focus on the facts at hand. And the more facts they gathered, the clearer it would become.

"Emory, y'ain't goin'...ya gotta stay here," Daryl stilled with his arms and then pulling her close.

"Don't be a an asshole. Of course I'm going. Maggie and Glenn are family," she tried to shake him free, unable to stop her tears. "They need us!"

"Yeah they are! And they do.. But ya also got family right here that needs ya even more If we don't return. Then they're gonna depend on ya!" Daryl insisted.

"Screw you Dixon! Just shut up! Don't you DARE say such a thing! What about what I need? Like that I NEED YOU to stop running off without me!" Emory couldn't stop crying...it had to be her hormones. "You're MY family!"

Daryl bit his lip to stay strong. She was safer here. Plus they truly did need her here. If the worst happened, it would be on Emory, Carol and Axel to care for the rest. But having to walk away from her again ...so soon after just finding her? It hurt so bad he felt nauseous.

"If you don't come back to me, I will NEVER EVER forgive you Daryl Dixon," Emory kept crying, tears streaming down her face. She was way past caring.

"I'll come back." Daryl wrapped her in his arms so tightly they were practically one, heartbeat beating against heartbeat. Still this was new territory for him...comforting someone because they cared for him.

Emory and Daryl finally moved their discussion outside where they watched Oscar, Rick and the newcomer, Michonne load up the truck.

"I will be back," Daryl confidently promised her. Kissing her, and tasting her salty tears finally hit him hard just how much he hated leaving her. But this was their life now.

"I love you, Daryl," Emory didn't care anymore. She couldn't hold back. "And I'm..." but she faltered when she saw the look of utter fear and panic in his eyes.

"Gonna be waiting. " She chickened out. Carl held her waist and they all watched the car's engine gear into to life.

Daryl looked back at her once more and forced a smile. With a final last wave, they all drove off to get the others.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Emory couldn't sleep a wink despite her exhaustion, so when Carol brought her a cup of tea in the middle of the night she welcomed the company...and the tea.

They were both worried sick about the others still out there. But how could they hope to manage with just who was left? Worse, would she even be able to summon the desire to live if they didn't come back? Rather, if Daryl didn't come back?

"I thought you might need this," Carol passed her the mug of hot tea, to which Carol had added a bit of whiskey.

"Thanks," Emory gratefully accepted it, letting the mug warm her hands. She took a deep sip, surprised by the strong dose of alcohol.

"Oooh, I wasn't expecting that," Emory's eyes widened as the whiskey warmed her throat.

"I thought you could use it. And that little bit won't hurt the baby, if that's your worry," Carol took a deep sip, waiting for Emory's reaction.

"I'm sorry Carol. Its just...I'm all over the place... One minute, I'm watching Daryl with Lil' Asskic...Judith," Emory corrected herself. Carl and Rick finally named her.

"And all I can think about is what a great Dad he'd be," Emory leaned back and closed her eyes.

"But then he was so adamant that he did not wang to be a Dad," Emory continued. "And he's right. If we want to live, a baby is a fool's notion."

"You know that's just bluster from his upbringing, right?" Carol reached for Emory's hand. "Between Merle and his Daddy, it was probably ingrained it in him. I betcha he'd have said the same thing even if things were normal."

"I won't shame him or guilt him into being a father," Emory forced herself to remain rational and not emotional.

"Em, there has almost never been a perfect time to have a baby. Thankfully people did it anyway...always finding a way. It used to be, 'I can't afford it, or I have no insurance, or how can I work, or I don't have daycare. But even before then, it could have just as easily been 'I live in a mud hut, or the king keeps taking our game, or what about the bubonic plague'" Carol rattled off. But nor did she didn't kid herself that another baby wouldn't be hard. But why were they fighting so hard to stay alive, if they refused to really live. And from an evolutionary standpoint, survival, by definition, IS reproduction.

"I don't know. I don't know anything anymore," Emory felt her eyes get heavy and her limbs relax.

"That's ok. Just don't do anything rash right now...something that you might regret," Carol begged, eyeballing the abortion pils on her dresser.

"All right...and thank you," Emory sighed heavily before she agreed to wait. A few days was a reasonable 'waiting period' to make a decision as important as this.

When Emory finally fell asleep, Carol tucked the heavy quilt up around her shoulders, bending down to place a gentle kiss on her temple.

Carol'd been half out of the cell when she stopped. She turned back around and pocketed the abortion pills. If Emory still wanted them after Daryl got back, then she'd return them. For some inexplicable reason, Carol hoped she wouldn't.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Emory woke up early to a grim, grey morning. She missed Daryl and felt like a part of her was missing when he wasn't there. 'Stop it, Em!' she scolded herself. 'We've all lost people...Carol lost her daughter. You DO NOT get to be a cry baby!'

The morning passed excruciatingly slow. Emory did the cooking and washed dishes while Carol fed Judith, giving Beth a well-deserved rest.

Axel eagerly offered to help Carol help secure the catwalk, so Emory helped Hershel get the infirmary clean and fully stocked.

"They'll bring them back," Emory told Hershel as she laid out a fresh sheet over the last bed.

"They will. I know it," Hershel answered with his southern drawl, full of confidence.

"Thank you for staying back with us. I know its not in your nature, but we really do need you," Hershel looked at her with his piercing blue eyes that missed nothing.

"Of course. I would do anything to take care of everyone here," Emory finished and helped Hershel back to their block,

It was mid-afternoon and Emory's nails were bitten near to the quick and her cuticles were starting to bleed. Annoyed with herself she shoved her hands angrily in her pockets and knew she somehow had to keep busy.

Daryl and the gang had been gone for well over 24 hours by now. Glenn and Maggie even longer. What if she lost them all? What if she lost him? Emory felt the tears threaten and knew she couldn't allow herself to continue wallowing.

But all she'd been able to think about this morning was Daryl...and being pregnant...and back to Daryl. Like what if he didn't come back to her? Her right hand rested protectively on her abdomen, before she'd even realized what she'd done.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

By afternoon, Emory and Carl busied themselves by clearing out the debris from Rick's 'crazy walk' when he'd single-handedly taken out all of the walkers. She and Carl worked tirelessly to drag any remaining carcasses to the large pyre they had going.

"Emory? Do you hear something?" Carl ran to her while continuing to listen for it. After a minute or so of silence she heard it too. Voices. Getting louder!

Emory pulled her Sig and motioned for Carl to be silent. Carl actually obeyed and pulled his own H&K, attaching the silencer. She raced ahead to lead the way while Carl followed her through the maze that were dark tombs ... searching for the source of the voices.

While Emory was running through the tombs she had no idea the torture Daryl was experiencing. Or that he would barely escape being beaten to death...by his brother.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

"Come with us, if you want to live," Emory ordered the band of five which they'd found running for their lives in the tombs. Carl's face reflected his fear, but he agreed with Emory. They couldn't just leave them.

Except they had another more serious problem. One of the women in the group had recently been bitten, and likely wouldn't make it til morning.

"I'm really sorry, but we just can't let you any further. Not until we have a group consensus. But you'll be safe here. We'll give you food and water and medicine...and what we can in the mean time," Emory assured the group while forcing Carl behind her and locking the door behind her.

"You can't just leave us here," the youngest woman slammed herself against the bars, her fury and likely terror encompassing her.

"I told you I have to! We'll bring you some food and we'll help you care for... your injured. Its the best I can do right now! We've been burned before, so ... I'm sorry," Emory tried to smile as she responded with firm compassion. But the young woman still banged angrily against the bars.

"Stop it right the fuck now, Sasha! We need to be thankin' these folks. This is the kindest receptions we've had in long time. Think on it. They don't even know us. We also know the kind of folks out there. But they don't know us...the type of people we are? Still, they took us in anyway. It's on us to give them a reason to trust us," the larger black man escorted his sister, Sasha, away from bars.

Emory tried desperately to shut out the heart-wrenching sobs from Sasha. With sheer force of will, she tuned out the cries. Unfortunately, she had other more-pressing issues to deal with. Thankfully Beth was heading towards her to bring food and water to the newcomers. Maybe settle them down?

TWDTWDTWDTWDYWDTWD

"I thought you might be hungry so I brought ya'll something to eat and also some fresh water. It ain't fancy but it is filling and the water has been boiled and filtered so its safe. We have some medicine if you think it will help...with the pain," Beth didn't shy away from the harsh realities as she slid the food and water through the bars. Still, Beth was unable to ignore the flash of excitement when the younger man set his eyes on her.

Emory still didn't trust these people 100% so she held back and waited. She listened in awe as Beth soothed even Sasha so naturally. Before Beth left, Sasha actually expressed her thanks.

"He's cute huh?" Emory teased when she escorted Beth back to their common area, draping a protective arm around her slim shoulders.

"Who? " Beth's blue eyes shone with a sparkle that Emory hadn't seen in forever. Perhaps we need these people as much as they need us, she thought as they walked back to the Block.

TWDYWDYWDTWDTWDTWD

Daryl struggled to catch his breath, his lungs were on fire from the exertion of running non-stop for at least five miles. He cursed all those years of smoking.

But his current situation was way more painful than the Governor's arena. Now that he was safe, he was stuck on the side of the road being forced to choose between his adopted family and his biological family. Between Emory and the group ...or Merle.

Emory or Merle!

"Nahhhh! Ya cain't ask me ta choose! Not again! Ta just leave him here in the woods...I cain't do it! Its fuckin' murder'. Not again!" Daryl snapped and begged Rick. While they stood arguing, Glenn stood furiously beside Rick.

The Samurai chick was off in the distance by the car, likely doing her best to keep from running back and cutting Merle's head off while he was lying there unconscious.

"Daryl? Do you see what your brother did to me? He tried to kill me! He threw a walker at me while I was tied in a chair! And do you even want to hear what they did to Maggie? I can't even..." Glenn choked up before he could continue. His face was beet red and, even though he was so badly injured he could barely stand, he pulsated with fury.

"Do you really feel alright with Merle sleeping in the same block as Emory? Carol? What about Judith?" Glenn pleaded his case. Praying Daryl would return with him.

"He ain't no rapist! Ya'll don't get it! He's MY BRUTHER!" Daryl took his time to enunciate every syllable.

"Come on ya'll? After all the shit thats gone down? I mean, would YOU leave Beth?" Daryl threw the question at Maggie.

"Are you kidding me? If she did even half the things Merle's done, I'd not only leave her, I'd beat her ass ...and then I'd leave her," Maggie's green eyes sparkled gold with fury. But deep beyond her anger she knew this was a bad thing for the group. She needed to stop this ... to stop Glenn and Rick before it escalated out of control. They had to bring Merle back, because if they returned without Daryl? Well Emory just might be their next loss.

"Fine! If you're gonna head off! Alone into the woods with Merle, then YOU need to tell US ... what do we tell Emory?" Rick threw down his last card and watched Daryl flinch...and so did Merle who sat up to catch the pain blanche over Daryl's face. In fact, Merle'd been listening to every word, whilst pretending to be unconscious.

It seemed to take forever, but Daryl finally spoke.

"You all tell her I died... Tell her I had to save Merle. It'll be the best thing for everyone," Daryl battled the stabbing pain in his chest and he could hardly swallow. Unable to deal with the situation a second longer, he grabbed his gear and walked over to jerk Merle up off the ground... before he could change his mind. Merle clasped his hand then wrapped his burly arm around and enveloped him in a big brotherly bear hug. Daryl forced himself to ignore the emptiness he felt.

"Ya can't just leave us...ya can't leave her Daryl! Emory's pr...," Maggie tried to yell something, only to be silenced by Glenn. The two of them bowed their heads together, obviously agitated. Daryl turned back and couldn't help but be suspicious. Had Maggie been trying to tell him something?

"Fuck you Dixon. You were never good enough for her. We all know you leaving is the best thing to happen to her," Glenn yelled and then kicked the muddy ground, hating himself for the hateful, ugly words he'd just said. Words he didn't mean.

Maggie told Glenn that Emory might be pregnant ... only because they were getting stuff for Lil' Asskicker. So, he naturally figured if Em was preggars with a Dixon, they'd likely need things for a baby boy. He'd even joked, "Lord help us all if we end up another male Dixon."

Daryl frowned! He'd never seen Glenn that furious. He was beyond angry. Why did he feel like the Chinaman was going on about something other than Merle?

Whatever it was, it hurt. It hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt! Far worse than any of his beatings. And the look in Glenn's eyes would likely haunt him forever. But that was nothing compared to the hole he felt about Emory. But what else could he do? He'd grown up knowing kin ALWAYS came first.

-/:::-:::-

Emory continued to pace the 8-ft by 8-ft watch tower, her stomach tumbling and lurching with every step. She prayed with every second that Daryl and the others would drive up. She missed him so much, it was like her heart was out there somewhere and she had no control. Sleeping in their bed alone at night only added to her grief.

She watched out over the lawn and suddenly Carl and Axel began to race forward and start the slow process of opening the gates. Her heart began pounding out of her chest.

He was back! Daryl was finally coming back home.

She descended the stairs two at a time, determined to be the first to reach the Hyundai, halting only to allow the gates to close.

Nearly breathless, she raced over and hugged Glenn and Maggie fiercely as soon as they exited the car. But Daryl never got out of the car.

"Daryl? Where is Daryl?" She started pacing around as panic set in. Still she waited for Daryl to come crawling out of the back or something. Emory looked inside the car then helplessly at Rick, her words little more than a whisper.

"Rick? No?" Emory felt so horribly alone as she begged for better news.

"I'm so very sorry Emory," Rick couldn't bring himself to tell her Daryl was dead. It was Maggie who ran forward to catch Emory when she passed out. Carol came running too.

"Nooooo!" Emory clasped her abdomen and fell to her knees, bending over and using her palms to support her.

"He didn't make it," Rick spoke verbotin, as if he were a robot.

"No! That's not possible! Not Daryl! Please Nooo!" She struggled to find the strength to stand, from somewhere deep within.

"I am SO sorry Emory," Rick lied easily, that blank look returning quite comfortably.

"Noooo!" Emory fell to the ground and rolled to her side, and curled into a fetal ball. She never even remembered Rick picking her up and carrying her to her cot. Or the injection Hershel gave her.

-/-/-/-

Emory woke to a bitch of a headache and complete disorientation. She'd had the weirdest dreams. She slowly sat up and tentatively looked around the familiar cell block. And even more slowly the memories of yesterday came faintly returning back.

Daryl was gone. He'd died! Trying to save Glenn and Maggie ans his brother. Her hand caressed her belly as she thought of Daryl. The details were still fuzzy. But the bottom line was that the only man she'd ever loved was gone. But not his child.

The pain was unbearable at moments, but after sobbing for 24 hours she was empty. Numb! Maybe numb was underrated! It used to be called "denial". But now she needed something to get through the pain. She smiled as her fingertips tapped over her taut abdomen. His baby.

She loved Daryl with everything she had. And he died for those he loved! A hero. She would tell their son or daughter that every day. She only wished she had a picture of him.

She allowed herself to cry and sob again until she was once again empty. Then, the next morning she actually stood up, brushed her hair and braided it. She brushed her teeth and took a deep breath.

She looked for the bottle of Mifepristone pills. She wanted to toss them...or bury them. Before the memorial they were preparing for Daryl, Oscar and Merle. She frowned as she sifted through her drawers. Nothing. The pills were gone.

Emory shrugged and left her cell to join the others in the common room. She needed the group. Her friends. Her family! They would help her get through this. What other choice was there? And now they may soon have a war on their hands.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

"Emory?" Carol was the first to come up to her. "How are you feeling?"

"Sad! Lonely! Numb," Emory told Carol the truth. "Its like he's still out there to me," she cried, not catching Carol's flinch.

"Part of me thought he was indestructible...like a Goddamn superhero?" Emory forced a hollow laugh.

"You had ample reason to. Hell, I did too," Carol draped her slim arm over Emory's shoulders.

"I want to keep the baby...our baby!" Emory blew out a breath and admitted. It didn't matter if it killed her. What else was there to live for if not new life. She turned to Carol to gauge her reaction.

"Oh Honey! It will work out! And we will ALL be here for you!" Carol grinned, wiping the tears from Emory's eyes.

"I know its stupid to try and keep it. But he or she is half Daryl. And I need to ...to keep something of him," Emory squeezed her eyes shut.

"We'll make it work," Carol couldn't tell Emory the truth. What if Em knew? Would she still keep the baby?

What Carol did know was that enough death had already taken place. Maybe it was time for some new life!


	17. Chapter 17 - We Were Wrong

**A/N:** I'd like to thank all that have favorited and followed me. Thanks for sticking with me. Usually the story pops into my brain linearly. But with this one I'm bouncing all over the place. I'm trying to get to a good stopping point, so I can return to Learning to Live.

**Bridgetlynn**: What an awesome review. Its like you're reading my mind. I have to wonder how much of my tone is colored by my disenchantment with Rick. I hope I don't disappoint. There will be plenty of anger, I promise.

**Dalonega Noquisi**: I'm sorry. Thank you for caring as much about these characters as I do.

**runawaycherry93**: You are so welcome. I hope to get it together and stop bouncing around. Threw at once is the present, to beg forgiveness.

Thanks again to everyone: Btw I would love to hear your thoughts on Carol getting kicked to the curb by Rick.

I was half hoping she'd shoot Rick and return without him. That or shout, "what about your sociopathic murderer son? Is he out with me? And you? Shane? Randall?" But no. She drove away. Or is she covering for Lizzie? Hmmmm? Let me know! Team Carol all the way!

* * *

"Hey Em. Are you ok?" Rick walked over with Judith in his arms. Most of them still called her Lil' Asskicker behind Rick's back, except Beth and Hershel. Rick's blue eyes were concerned, but also weary and cautious.

"I guess I'm managing. Sometimes I almost welcome the numbness. There are moments it hurts so much I can't breathe." Emory admitted, not catching the guilt wash over Rick's face. He quickly masked it with his typical earnest gaze. Instead she stared out at the cross they'd put up for Daryl. And also one for Merle which she'd insisted on, despite Glenn's and the other's protests.

"Rick, do you really think Woodbury will attack? I mean Andrea is still living there, right? She knows we aren't dangerous. Surely she can convince them." Emory frowned, unable to wrap her head around the messed up situation.

"I dunno. People don't think like they used to anymore. Its so hard to predict," Rick paused.

"When we found Glenn and Maggie they were moments from being executed. And Merle and Daryl were in an Arena to fight to the death. And Andrea was there trying to talk this Governor guy...,I'm sorry..." Rick saw the hurt pierce Emory sharper than any knife. A million emotions flashed across Emory's expressive face.

"I'm pregnant Rick." Emory rushed the words before she could chicken out. Rick gasped in shock. He bent over to support himself on his knees, swallowing the nausea. He'd have to tell her the truth. Rick slowly accepted the fact that he'd made the wrong decision.

"And I want to keep it. I am going to keep him!" Emory admitted. When she realized she referred to the baby as a 'he' she broke down in sobs. This was real.

Rick gasped before he lifted her up and held her, hating himself for his lies and deceit and awful decisions. He had no business being in charge.

"Daryl didn't know," It was a statement, not a question. Rick groaned over what he'd done to two people he loved like family.

"No. I only just found out, and then it all got so crazy. At first I thought I would 'handle' it. I still had the pills ...from Lori... Nevermind," she mumbled.

"I thought I could do it, but I can't. I know it will make me a burden but," Emory was nearly out of breath.

"Emory. This baby will be a part of our group! Our family! And I will protect you and your baby. As Daryl did mine..." Rick bent his forehead to hers and they both wept for what should have been.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDYWD

"We oughta head back toward that river...catch us up some fish," Daryl suggested awkwardly. He'd felt uncomfortable and disconnected ever since he'd walked away with Merle...leaving everything and every one he cared for behind. But it was better than polluting all he loved with more Merle Dixon shit.

"I think yer just trying ta get back ta Rick and that pussy ya been bangin'!" Merle laughed with abandon.

"Oh, did ya think I didn't pick up on that? How they all thought mention of pussy would bring ya crawlin' back. I get it, bruther! I remember Em'ry. She was one hot piece 'a ass! I'm proud as a papa ya nailed that 'un down. I wouldn't mind a taste myself!" Merle chuckled but really he was primarily checking to see how fast Daryl's pupil's dilated or how fast his pulse changed. Daryl's fist pulled back but then he stilled.

"Did'ya hear that?" Daryl ignored Merle and scrambled up the nearby bank to witness a family, with a baby, being ambushed by walkers. Daryl ran towards the family, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. Merle screeched profanity at him the entire way.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDYWD

Hours later.

"Lil' bruther, ya gotta toughen up. This world ain't fer the likes of ya...not if ya keep insistin' on runnin' in ta save the day? Y'ain't no Fuckin' Robin Hood. Its all about survival! You and me Lil' Bruther! We're built to survive this shit! But those posers ya been hangin' with? Naw way! They won't last the day! The Governor's prob'ly killed em all by now," Merle boasted.

"What the fuck? Do you know something？" All he could think about was Emory. Which only infuriated Merle all the more.

"Now listen here ya little pansy ass!" Merle dove at Daryl, yanking his vest and threadbare shirt completely off. Daryl waited for the pain he knew was coming. Except it didn't.

Merle was sickened! Stunned and disgusted! He'd never known! Or had he always known...deep down?

Deep down in the back of his repressed memories he knew there'd been bad shit. But right here, right now, in the brutal light of day...he could see the deep red welts. Welts that should have been his...if only he'd been 'man' enough to stay and protect his baby bruther.

"I didn't know," Merle cried as he insisted. But they both knew that was a lie.

"Yeah Ya Did!" Daryl wouldn't let it go so easy this time. Not now when he'd learned there was a better way. "Cuz he did the same ta you!"

"I couldn't stay! I'da killed him if I had?" Merle collapsed into the mud, wiping the cool dirt over his hot skin.

"Yea well, I'm going back! Come with me er don't, but I'm going back to my family. Not just fer them either. I LOVE her, and I can only hope ta God she'll forgive me," Daryl threw his crossbow over his back, and feeling lighter than he had in years, he headed back toward the prison.

Leaving Merle to stand there, stunned and terrified.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Emory felt like she needed the privacy of the RV so she locked the door and showered. She took her time, needing the privacy. As her hair air-dried, she put on a clean tshirt and black yoga pants.

Emory hated the oppressive weight of her loneliness. She needed these moments when she could be weak and just fall apart...in privacy. Without thinking she placed a hand over her belly.

"Lil' Badass?" She spoke to her belly. "You won't know how amazing your daddy was, but I promise that I will tell you about him every day. And you will remind me of him," she felt the salty tears stream down.

She sat on the RV chair for a while and she couldn't deny that with every hour that passed she felt something bad was coming. And after what they'd told her about Woodbury, Emory couldn't ignore the constant feeling that they were being watched. That the Governor would be coming for them. She shook her head at the senselessness of it all. Didn't the living have enough on their plate?

But Emory was just as eager to put a bullet in this douchebag's brain. For Daryl, she envisioned herself putting a bolt through the Governor's brain.

"Where is his crossbow?" Emory startled, and a sudden frisson of anxiety zinged over her skin. Surely the others would have brought it back for her? Why hadn't they? It didn't jive with how he died. She reminded herself to ask Rick. She would get it back...she had to...for her son.

"Luke...Luke Dixon," the name came to her and her tummy did a strange fluttering, like a nest if butterflies. "Yea? You like that? Then Luke it is."

With a newly felt serenity, she left the RV and returned to the cell block.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Ya can't tell her Maggie! She's barely hanging on as it is. And she told Rick she wants to keep the baby!" Glenn whispered to Maggie once they were alone in their cell.

"Uggghhh Ok Fine! I don't like it but fine!," Maggie reluctantly conceded but she still paced their tiny cell, feeling awful. Plus, things were still a bit weird since they'd been rescued. Glenn kept looking at her, as if she might be broken.

"She should have told him she was pregnant,"' Glenn meant to stand up for Daryl, but also to justify the part he'd played. "He might have stayed with us if he knew."

"Yea? After he went on and on how much he never wanted kids? Plus he shoulda stayed for Emory, not because she's pregnant," Maggie turned her accusing green eyes back on Glenn.

"We were wrong weren't we?" Glenn heaved a deep sigh of regret and then he reached fir Maggie's hand. Needing her understanding. Her love. Her!

"This wasn't our decision to make. We should have worked something out. I was just so pissed." Glenn admitted, knowing Maggie understood. But there was still something hanging between them.

"We have to tell her that Daryl's still alive don't we." Glenn looked up at her.

"Yes. We do. She deserves to know the truth," was all Maggie said. To soften her words, she reached up to caress his face.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

Emory hadn't meant to eavesdrop but old habits die hard. She'd been heading back to her cell, but the way Glenn and Maggie were behaving lately, naturally made her suspicious.

But all she could hear ringing in her ears was that Daryl was alive. Her heart soared, but then came flooding a thousand unanswered questions. Without thinking, she stormed into Glenn and Maggie's cell.

TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD

"Daryl's still alive!" Emory stormed in, only now visible in the golden dim light of Maggie and Glenn's cell.

They both jumped at the sudden intrusion, their guilt was obvious on their faces.

"How could you?" Emory was initially furious but the pain became overwhelming. Maggie sat her down on the cot and wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm so so sorry Emory. He told us to tell you that he died...,but that doesn't make what we did right." Maggie apologized, praying Emory would understand. Glenn sat sheepishly on the small chair.

"He really told you to say that? I don't understand?" Emory wiped away her tears, her face raw and vulnerable.

"Its partly my fault," Glenn spoke up, trying to find the words.

"Just tell me what happened," Emory shook her head. She was getting frustrated with all the apologies.

"Well, when we escaped the arena...ya see Merle helped us, so he ran back with us." Maggie remembered how it happened.

"When they met us back at the cars, we had to make a decision. And after what Merle did to me...to Maggie, I couldn't let him come back here with us!" Glenn's face reddened with fury at the memory of Merle's viciousness.

"So you gave Daryl an ultimatum?" Emory finished his sentence, quickly fitting the pieces together.

"Yeah, we did! And Daryl chose Merle," Glenn snapped defensively, punctuating the story with that last statement.

"Glenn, you judgmental Fuck! Are you really going to sit there and tell me that we worked out a way to live with convicts...I mean we are in a prison afterall...but with all these resources you couldn't come up with a third option? Or did you just not want to?" Emory's voice rose to screaming. The others woke from the noise and slowly congregated around the entrance. When Emory saw Rick, she turned on him.

"We live in a Goddamned prison! Are you telling me you couldn't have figured out some way to lock Merle up and let Daryl come home?" Emory stood and poked a finger in Rick's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry Emory," was all Rick said. Everything she said was true, and he had no excuse. He'd run off his best friend.

"Yeah, Me Too!" Emory forced her head high and walked out of the cell, aware all eyes were on her.

She barely made it to her and Daryl's cell...no it was just HER cell now and she collapsed on the bed and sobbed. She'd thought she was cried out but this new wave of pain...that when push came to shove he picked his brother, was worse than believing he was dead.

"He is dead Emory! To you, he's dead. This changes nothing," she lied to herself. He'd left her. He was gone with his brother and the chances of ever seeing him again were slim at best. It just hurt so much more now that she knew he chose to leave her rather than when she'd thought he was taken from her.

Carol leaned against the bars and peeked in on Emory, who was curled up into a shaking ball and crying. She'd originally intended to go in and talk, hopefully try and ease her pain.

But this kind of hurt...there simply were no words for. Feeling bereft and lost, Carol wandered back to her own cell and lay on her cot unable to sleep. She couldn't help but wonder where Daryl was right now. Was he just as miserable.


End file.
